Crazy Hole Time Travelers by Gary Whitmore - HTML preview

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“I’m Marshal Clint Bartley,” Clint said.

Hector looked at Clint’s hand and then shook it.

Clint walked back to the table and sat down.

Alicia sat across from him, placed the folder on the table, and opened it. She removed a pad of paper and a pen from the folder.

Hector leaned against the wall and eyed Clint, still leery of him. Alicia sniffed the air and caught a whiff of Clint’s body odor. She removed a piece of paper and read it, then looked baffled. “You expect me to believe you were born in eighteen forty-two, and you’re the Marshal of Oak Creek?” Alicia asked.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Clint replied.

“We got a nut job on our hands,” Hector said quietly.

Alicia looked at Clint with doubtful eyes.

“Who are these cowboys you were shooting at outside the Wild Cactus Saloon?” she asked.

“Outlaws Bart Stone and Charlie Chandler,” he answered.

“Outlaws. I haven’t heard criminals being called that,”

Alicia said while she jotted down those names in her notepad.

Alicia opened the folder and removed the wanted poster Clint had on him that the police confiscated. She looked at the wanted poster.

“Do you know who this Kissing Bandit might be?” she asked.

“John Mathers. He rode with Bart and Charlie,” Clint answered.

“What about this wounded Indian we have at the St.

Joseph’s Hospital?” she asked.

“He’s Merijildo. An Apache tracker and one of the best in this territory,” he said.

Alicia wrote all that down on her notepad.

“We have witnesses that stated you didn’t shoot first, but can you tell me why they started it?” Alicia said.

“Just the life of a Marshal, as I always have outlaws shoot at me. Anyway, I was after Bart, Charlie, and John for robbing the Oak Creek National Bank and killing my deputy, Elmer Filson. I entered Crazy Hole and ended up here. In your town,”

Clint told her.

“You ended up here, in my town. Okay, I think I understand,” Alicia said. She motioned at Hector to meet him outside in the hallway.

“I’ll be right back,” she told Clint.

Alicia got up with the wanted poster.

Clint stood up like a gentleman should when a woman leaves the room.

“Ma’am, what year is this, and what’s the name of this town?” Clint asked her.

Alicia looked surprised at hearing that question. “Don’t you know?”

“No, Ma’am.”

“It’s two thousand and six, and you’re in Phoenix, Arizona,” she told him.

Clint looked amazed.

Alicia looked bewildered while she left the room with Hector.

Angie and Hector stood in the hallway and looked at Clint from the interrogation room window.

“Get still shots from that saloon video of those two cowboys, and check the local nut houses for escapees. Then please have him shower and wash his clothes,” Alicia told Hector.

“In work,” Hector said, then walked down the hallway.

Alicia watched Clint through the window of the interrogation room.

Alicia glanced at the wanted poster and then at Clint inside the room. She hoped he wasn’t an escapee from a mental institution because something about him intrigued her.

John stopped at an Army and Navy store and bought a used duffel bag.

He left that store and drove his Corolla to all the coin shops and antique stores, where he sold the coins, rifles, and pistols he stole in 1883. He bought back all the gold and silver coins he could. To do this, he had to buy currencies of lesser quality to afford the quantity he needed. This was the only way out of this mess.

Bart and Charlie sat in chairs with shaved heads in the Desert Tattoo Parlor. They also wore modern Levi blue jeans and tee shirts with the standard Devil’s Cowboys jean jackets.

The tattoo artist walked up and sat down by Bart.

“He’s Bart, and the other guy is Charlie,” Bear told the artist.

The tattoo artist nodded, saying he understood, and grabbed his needle gun. Bart looked at the needle; he whipped out his pistol and pressed it deep into the crotch of the artist.

“You best not cut me!” Bart snarled at the tattoo artist.

The artist swallowed hard. “No sir,” he replied, then started up his needle gun. He cautiously started on the cowboy cartoon.

Charlie, Jesse, and Billy looked at Bart’s arm. Their eyes crossed, and they fainted to the floor.

Bear and the other Devil’s Cowboys chuckled at the sight of Charlie, Jesse, and Billy on the floor.

John left a coin shop in Scottsdale and bought back all the coins he previously sold.

He walked to the nearby parking lot and got in his Corolla.

He started it up and drove off.

Chapter 13

It’s later that Saturday.

Alicia worked at her desk reading paperwork at the police station.

Hector approached her with the “Outlaw and Lawmen of Arizona” book and a file folder. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.

“I ran down John Mathers. He works as a driver who stocks vending machines. Are you ready for the bizarre part?”

Alicia got curious and dropped her paperwork. Hector laid the “Outlaws and Lawmen of Arizona” book and the folder on her desk. He opened up the book to a flagged page.

“Here’s a picture of the Marshal of Oak Creek. His name was Clint Bartley,” he said. “Does he look familiar?” he said.

Alicia looked at the page and saw an old black and white photo of Clint taken outside his office in Oak Creek. It was the same picture he showed Merijildo in eighteen eighty-three. “I don’t believe it,” she said while she stared at the picture.

Hector turned the pages of the book to another flagged page. “Here’s a picture of outlaws Bart Stone and Charlie Chandler took around eighteen eighty-two,” Hector said.

Alicia looked at the page and saw an old black-and-white photo of Bart and Charlie in a saloon in Rattlesnake.

Hector reached into the folder and handed Alicia some color photos. These still shots are from the video taken from yesterday’s first incident at the Wild Cactus Saloon.

“Here are some pictures from the saloon shooting. Notice how Bart had half of their right ear missing. Just like the picture in the book,” he said.

Alicia looked at the book and then at the pictures. She looked bewildered by all this information.

Hector turned to another flagged page in the book.

“And Elmer Filson was killed, September seventeenth, eighteen eighty-three, in a place called Oak Creek during a bank robbery of the Oak Creek National bank. The robbery was committed by Bart Stone, Charlie Chandler, and John Mathers, alias the Kissing Bandit,” he said.

Hector turned the pages of the book to another flagged page. “Here’s that Apache tracker Bartley mentioned,” he said.

“If this is the Indian in the hospital, I’m checking into the nuthouse,” Alicia said, not knowing what to think.

Hector nodded in agreement while she got up from her desk. They walked away from her desk.

Twenty minutes later, over in a St. Joseph’s Hospital room, Merijildo slept in the bed with his head and shoulder bandaged and left arm in a sling.

Mel slept in a nearby chair and planned on staying until his great-grandfather was released.

The room door opened, and Alicia and Hector, with the

“Outlaws and Lawmen of Arizona” book in hand, entered.

Mel woke up when they closed the door.

Alicia and Hector flashed their badges at Mel.

“I’m Detective Alicia Hernandez, and this is Detective Hector Carlson,” she said. “I’m Mel Lincoln.”

Alicia walked over to Merijildo’s bed. Hector opened the book and compared the pictures to Merijildo’s. They were shocked at what they saw in the book and the hospital bed.

“He’s a spitting image of this Indian in this book,” she said. Mel got up curious and walked over to Alicia and Hector.

He glanced at the page in the book and smiled. “He’s my great-grandfather,” Mel said.

“In the book?” Hector asked and pointed at the picture.

“Yes, and in bed.”

Alicia and Hector looked at each other in disbelief.

John walked out of another coin shop in Phoenix. He had a bag with gold and silver coins, which he stole. He walked to

his parked Corolla, got inside it, started it up, and drove off down the street.

Alicia drove the unmarked car with Hector in the passenger seat. He kept looking at the pages of Clint, Bart, Charlie, and Merijildo.

“Every time I think about these people, time travel keeps popping up,” Alicia said.

Hector thought about her comment, and then he remembered something. “You know, there was a story back in the fifties about some guy claiming he went back through some cave called Crazy Hole. The authorities said he was delusional, and they locked him up in some mental ward,” Hector said.

Alicia got curious about that book. “See if a Kissing Bandit is in that book.”

Hector flipped through some pages. He stopped, looked surprised, and showed Alicia the page.

She looked and saw the picture of Bart, Charlie, and John in Rattlesnake.

Alicia reached down and opened up her folder. She opened it and removed Clint’s wanted poster.

She compared it to the picture in the book. She hummed the “Twilight Zone” TV show theme song.

“Exactly,” Hector agreed with Alicia.

Back in the Devil’s Cowboys house, Bear and Bart finished their beers on the back porch.

“Before we start your plan, I still have this matter of John Matters that I need to settle. He still has my loot from the last bank we robbed,” Bart said.

“Where can we find this guy?” Bear asked.

Bart removed John’s address from his jean jacket pocket and handed it to Bear. “Do you know that place?” Bart asked.

Bear read the paper. “Yeah, I know where it’s located,”

Bear replied.

They walked back inside the house and went into the living room.

In the living room, Charlie and the rest of the Devil’s Cowboys lounged around, eating pizza and drinking beer.

Candy, Melinda, and Sadie were out earning tricks.

“Let’s ride boys. We have to pay someone a visit,” Bear told everybody.

Charlie and the Cowboys got up and rushed to the front door.

Meanwhile, John drove his Corolla down the street, where his apartment complex was.

John turned into the parking lot of his apartment complex, parked his car, and turned off the engine. He was scared.

He reached over to the passenger floorboard, grabbing his duffel bag.

He got out of his car and cautiously walked through the parking lot to the apartment buildings.

He cautiously walked through the complex and looked over his shoulder for Bart, Charlie, or Clint. The coast was clear.

He got to his second-floor apartment door. He made it safe and sound so far, then unlocked his door, slowly opened it, cautiously peeked inside, and the coast was still clear.

He entered his apartment, closed the door, locked it, and ran down the hallway.

John ran into his bedroom, dropping his duffel bag to the floor, then rushed to his closet. He opened the bi-fold doors, removing a backpack and his outlaw cloth bag.

He removed his cowboy hat and the clothes he wore in 1883, shoved them in his backpack, and removed other shirts and other Levi’s, shoving them into his backpack.

The sound of the six Harleys of the Devil’s Cowboys was heard from his bedroom window. But John didn’t feel those Harleys were a threat.

He rushed over to his dresser drawers, opened the top drawer, removed a bunch of receipts from his pants pocket, and dropped them in the drawer. He closed the drawer, opened up another drawer, and removed tee shirts, socks, and numerous tighty whitey underwear, shoving them in his backpack but forgetting to zip it closed.

Then he heard his apartment’s front door crash open.

Bart and Charlie slowly entered John’s living room with their pistols drawn.

“Mathers! Where’s our money?” Bart yelled from the living room.

In his bedroom, John stood frozen with fear. He looked out his window, grabbed his duffel bag and backpack, and rushed over. After opening his bedroom window, he tossed the duffel bag and backpack outside. They plopped on the ground.

John climbed out of his bedroom window. He hung on the window sill by his hands, let go, fell to the ground, and landed with a thud.

John got up and grabbed his backpack and duffel bag, then limped away through his apartment complex.

Bart and Charlie rummaged through his computer desk drawer in John’s living room. Bart found the picture of them in Rattlesnake, which made him madder since a friend betrayed him by stealing their loot. He tore the picture into four pieces and let them rain on the floor. Then he removed another piece of paper and saw John’s “X” through Oak Creek and the other cities listed. Bart dropped that paper on the floor.

Bart looked at John’s computer and felt intimidated by this strange device, so he left it alone.

Charlie went into the kitchen while Bart went down the hallway.

Charlie rummaged through the kitchen cabinets. He dumped glasses, plates, silverware, and pots on the floor.

In the bedroom, Bart looked under John’s bed.

He rummaged through John’s closet and didn’t find his loot. Bart walked over and rummaged through John’s dresser drawers. Bart saw a framed picture of Angie and John on top of the dresser. He grabbed the picture and looked at it.

Charlie entered the bedroom. “I didn’t find our loot,” he said while he walked up to Bart. Then he noticed the picture of Angie and John, and he got a horny grin.

“After we kill him, can I have my way with her?” Charlie asked with a horny smile.

Bart smashed the picture glass against the corner of the dresser. “Just like she’s your wife!” he promised.

Charlie got excited and did a goofy victory dance.

Bart had a strange hunch while he looked and saw the opened bedroom window. “He just skedaddled,” Bart told Charlie.

Bart dropped the picture of John and Angie, and then they rushed out of the bedroom.

John ran through the parking lot and passed twenty feet from Bear and the Devil’s Cowboys waited for Bart and Charlie, and they didn’t notice John.

John ran to his Corolla.

He opened the door, threw his backpack and duffel bag into his car, got inside, and started it up.

He drove out of the parking lot and down the street. Five minutes later, Bart and Charlie ran through the complex and to the parking lot. They ran up to Bear and the Devil’s Cowboys.

“Did you see him?” Bart asked Bear.

“Nope,” Bear said.

Bart looked around the area. “We need to find out where Mather’s girlfriend lives. He’s probably with her,” Bart said while he got on the back of Bear’s Harley.

“As soon as we make some serious cash, we’re getting you two your own Harleys,” Bear said.

The Devil’s Cowboys drove off through the parking lot and down the street.

John drove his Corolla to the Best Western in Apache Junction and parked at the far end of the parking lot. He grabbed his duffel bag and backpack and headed to the registration desk.

John went to the front desk and got a room for the night using his credit card.

“I hope they don’t get too pissed,” John thought to himself when this credit card bill doesn’t get paid. He shoved his room key into his pocket.

He grabbed his backpack and duffel bag and then rushed down the lobby.

John didn’t realize that his backpack was upside down.

One of his tighty whitey underwear dropped out of his backpack. Then another pair of tighty whitey underwear dropped out. Then, another pair of underwear dropped out.

Then, another pair of underwear dropped out. There was a trail of tighty whiteys behind John in the lobby.

A cane tapped John on his shoulder, freaking him freaking out, believing Bart and Charlie found him. He immediately dropped his duffel bag and backpack, then crouched down in the fetal position on the floor, covering his head. “I’m sorry!

Please don’t kill me!” John cried out, shaking in fear.

Everybody in the lobby stopped and gawked at John, who stayed cowered on the floor.

John didn’t hear a gun, so he looked up and saw an old Nun who hovered over him with a cane.

“Young man, you’re leaving a Fruit of the Looms trail on the floor,” she said, then picked up one of his underwear with the end of her cane.

John saw his underwear while it dangled off the end of her cane and blushed.

“Oh, thank you,” John said, then stood up.

“It’s a good thing you listened to your mother about keeping your boxers clean,” the Nun said.

She walked away with her cane and chuckled.

People watched and snickered while John quickly picked up his underwear and shoved them in his backpack. He zipped it up, grabbed his duffel bag, and rushed down the lobby to the elevators, glancing over his shoulder.

John entered his hotel room and dropped the duffel bag and backpack on the floor. He removed his wallet from his back pocket, opened it up, removed a picture of Angie, and glanced at it. “I hope to see you one last time before I start my new life.”

John walked over, got on the bed, and continued to glance at Angie’s picture.

Bart and Charlie drank beer back at the Devil’s Cowboys house.

Sadie, Candy, and Melinda rode up on Harley’s to the house. They parked them and went inside the house. The girls operated in another house across town called The Devil’s Playpen. Bear’s seventy-year-old mother, an ex-prostitute, ran the house and lived in one of the bedrooms.

Charlie watched while Sadie, Candy, and Melinda gave Bear half the money they earned on their backs or hands and knees today.

He gave them a kiss on the cheek. “Go get some rest,” he said, then smacked them on their ass.

Charlie watched the rear ends of the girls while they walked down the hallway, and he got another erection.

Bart and Bear stepped outside on the back porch to discuss tomorrow’s plan to visit Angie.

Angie paced in her living room, upset. She thought about the recent events with John and wondered how she should handle everything.

She walked over to her coffee table, grabbed her cell phone, and made a call. “Mom, it’s Angie,” she said into her cell phone.

“Hi, baby. How are you doing?” she answered from the cell phone.

“So, ah,” Angie replied.

“What’s wrong?” her mother replied.

“I think I need a break from Phoenix. Can I come home for a week or more?” she asked.

“You know you don’t have to ask. It’s still your home,” her mother replied.

“I’ll be there in a couple of days. I’ll fly to Philly. Can you pick me up at the airport?” she asked.

“Just let Dad or I know the flight number and time, and we’ll be there,” her mother replied.

“I will. I’ll call you later. Love you, Mom,” Angie said, then disconnected the call.

Angie sat down on the couch, and her eyes welled up. She punched in another phone number on her cell phone.

“Richard,” her boss answered her call.

“It’s Angie. Listen, I hate to do this, but I will resign my position immediately. I’ve been having some trouble with John, and I think it’s time I move on with my life,” Angie said.

“I terminated John yesterday if that makes things easier for you,” Richard replied.

“No. I think I should head back to Philly for a while. I would like to take my week’s vacation immediately, then I’ll come back and spend two weeks helping you find my replacement,” she said.

“I would hate to lose you, Angie, as you’re one of my best employees. So let’s do this. Take your week’s vacation.

Immediately. Peggy can cover. Then let’s see if you still feel the same way when you get back,” he replied.

Angie thought about his suggestion for a couple of seconds. “Okay,” she agreed.

“Great. I’ll see you in a week,” Richard said, then disconnected the end of the call.

Angie turned off her cell phone and laid it on the coffee table. Her eyes welled up while she thought about how things had turned out with John.

Back at the Police Station, Clint lay in his jail cell bed and closed his eyes while he tried to fall asleep.

At home that night, Alicia drank hot green tea while reading the “Outlaws and Lawmen of Arizona” book.

She read the section on Marshal Clint Bartley, as something about him still intrigued her. She started to like him and didn’t feel he was a criminal. But then she read the part where Clint Bartley went missing while chasing after Bart Stone, Charlie Chandler, and the Kissing Bandit.

“I think I know why he went missing,” Angie guessed while staring at that book.

Chapter 14

It’s Sunday, September 3rd, 2006.

John stayed hidden in his hotel room while Clint was still in jail and Merijildo was still in the hospital.

Bart and Charlie hung with the Devil Cowboys, riding around Phoenix searching for John.

Alicia stayed home thinking about her strange prisoner, Clint.

Angie was in her apartment packing.

It was Monday morning, September 4th, 2006.

At the police station, Alicia arrived at her desk with a cup of coffee from a Circle K. She stopped off to work.

She sat down at her desk and turned on her computer.

Hector walked over with a glazed donut and a cup of coffee in his mouth.

He sat at his desk, munching on his donut, and sipped his coffee.

A female police officer walked up to Alicia’s desk.

“Were you looking for a John Mathers?” she asked Alicia.

“I am, why?” Alicia replied and took a sip of her coffee.

“I heard of a call last night about someone breaking into an apartment in Apache Junction. Units investigated and learned it belonged to John Mathers. Someone kicked in the front door and rummaged through the place, but Mathers wasn’t there. Plus, the guys that broke into the place wore the Devil’s Cowboys jackets, and they both had pistols in holsters,” the officer told Alicia.

“Thanks,” Alicia replied.

The female officer walked away.

“Let’s go, Hector. I want to check out Mather’s apartment.

See what we can dig up,” she said.

Alicia and Hector got in their unmarked car and drove to John’s apartment complex.

A little while later, Alicia and Hector walked to the door with the complex manager. He unlocked the door that was repaired this morning.

“Let me know when you’re done so I can lock it,” the manager said, then walked away.

Alicia and Hector cautiously entered with pistols drawn.

John’s apartment looked like a tornado came through. “Yep, it looks like our two outlaws were here,” Alicia said while they glanced around the living room.

“I’m going to check out the bedroom,” Hector said, walking down the hallway.

Alicia walked around the living room and looked at all the items on the floor.

She saw the ripped-up picture on the floor by the computer desk. She walked over to it, bent down, picked up the pieces, and placed them on the computer desk. Alicia pieced the ripped-up pieces and put them together like it was a jigsaw puzzle.

“Hector, here’s that same picture from the book,” she said.

Hector entered from the bedroom with the picture of John and Angie and all those receipts in hand.

Hector walked over to Alicia and looked at the picture of Bart, Charlie, and John taken in Rattlesnake. “Yeah, it sure looks like the same picture,” he said. “She must be his girlfriend,” Hector added, showing Alicia the picture.

Alicia compared the Rattlesnake picture against the picture Hector had in hand. “Yep, it sure looks like this John Mathers returned to the old west. I wonder why?” she said.

Hector looked at the Rattlesnake picture. “To be a famous old western outlaw, I would guess,” he said.

“I think you’re right. But it sounds like things went sour on the kid,” she said.

Hector nodded in agreement and saw the other paper on the floor. He picked it up, and they looked at it. Then, they saw John’s “X” through Oak Creek and the other 1880s cities listed.

“Looks like he was going to keep track of his crimes,”

Alicia said.

“Yeah, looks that way,” Hector replied, laying the paper on the desk. He handed Alicia the receipts he discovered earlier.

Alicia looked the receipts over and saw they were for Mathers buying a 2006 Mustang horse and selling guns, pistols, and money from the 1880s.

“Looks like he spent his money from being an outlaw here in present-day Phoenix,” Alicia said, then shoved the receipts in his pocket.

“Let’s find this girlfriend and have a talk with her. I have a feeling we need to get this John Mathers before those two outlaws get him,” she said, shoving the receipts in her pants pocket.

“Let’s go,” she told Hector.

They left the apartment and closed the door.

John checked out of his hotel room.

He walked to his car and put the duffel bag on the passenger floorboard.

He got inside, started it up, and drove off.

At the Devil’s Cowboys’ house, Bear wakes everybody up.

They all took turns with the morning hygiene routine.

Sadie, Candy, and Melinda got on their Harleys and headed to the Devil’s Playpen.

Bear, Bart, Charlie, and the other Devil’s Cowboys got on their Harleys and drove off to the Western Snacks and Vending Company.

Angie sat in the break room with Peggy at the Western Snack and Vending Company. On the bulletin board was a poster where Frank tried to sell his 1993 Chevy 1500 pickup for $900.

Angie and Peggy drank their morning coffee and snacked on some pastry at one of the tables.

“Anyway, I couldn’t take his crazy outlaw stories anymore, so I broke up with him, Angie said, depressed.

“How crazy?” Peggy asked.

“Babbling about going back in time and becoming a famous outlaw, some outlaws wanting to kill him, and some

Marshal who wants to arrest him,” Angie replied, then sipped her coffee.

“Wow, that sure doesn’t sound like John,” Peggy said.

“I think those western movies got to his head big time,”

Angie said.

“What are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to use my vacation time and visit my parents.

I’ll have time alone to seriously think about my life and where I want to go. I might return and quit, so can you cover for me this week?” Angie said while a tear ran down her cheek.

Peggy reached over and held Angie’s hand. “No problem,”

she smiled with a comforting smile.

“Thanks,” Angie said and smiled. Then she looked at her watch.

“I better get home and finish packing. My flight leaves later tonight,” Angie said.

Angie and Peggy stood up, hugged her, and left the break room.

She walked into Richard’s office, and they had some small talk, then she left the building.

Bear, Bart, Charlie, and the Devil’s Cowboys outside the building waited on their Harleys in the business’s parking lot next to the Western Snacks and Vending Company. They eyed the front door while they waited.

Angie exited the building and walked to her car in the parking lot.

Charlie’s eyes widened with lust the second he saw Angie.

“There she is, the love of my life,” Charlie said, drooling at the sight of Angie then blew kisses at her.

While Angie walked to her car, the Devil’s Cowboys started up their Harleys.

Angie drove out of the parking lot and down the street.

The Devil’s Cowboys pulled out of the other parking lot and followed Angie, who didn’t suspect anything.

John drove his Corolla to a florist shop.

He came out a few minutes later with a dozen roses for Angie.

He drove to his former place of employment, but Kim, the receptionist, told him Angie went home for a week’s vacation and might quit. John felt guilty and left. He got in his Corolla and drove off down the street.

The Devil’s Cowboys followed Angie to the Sandy Mountain apartment complex.

She parked her car, and they parked at the other end of the lot. Bear and the rest of the Devil’s Cowboys waited while Bart and Charlie followed Angie to her apartment.

John drove his Corolla into the other end of the parking lot of Angie’s apartment complex.

Bart and Charlie watched around the corner of a building while Angie entered her apartment.

John got out of the Corolla with the dozen roses in hand.

He walked to Angie’s apartment building, and along the way, he rehearsed what he would say.

Bart and Charlie walked to Angie’s door, and Bart got ready to knock on it. Charlie looked around, and his eyes widened when he saw John walking in their direction.

“There’s Mathers!” Charlie said and pointed at John.

Bart looked and saw John, and he whipped out his pistol, as did Charlie.

They ran away from Angie’s apartment door.

John walked closer to Angie’s apartment building.

Where’s my loot?” Bart yelled at John, and then he fired a shot. At first, John didn’t recognize Bart and Charlie. But when a bullet zinged in John’s shoes, he recognized them and knew they wanted to kill him. He dropped his roses, turned around, and returned to the parking lot.

Bart and Charlie raced after him.

Bart and Charlie stopped, aimed, and then fired their pistols.

A bullet zinged by John’s ear while the other one hit a parked car five feet away.

People around the apartment complex heard the gunfire and dove for cover.

Bear and the Devil’s Cowboys watched while John ran to his car. They started their Harleys and were ready for Bart and Charlie.

John jumped in his car and started it up.

He screeched out of the parking lot and fishtailed into the street, racing his Corolla off down the street.

Bart and Charlie ran to Bear and the Devil’s Cowboys.

“Mather’s ran off,” Bart told Bear.

“We saw him,” Bear said.

Bart got on the back of Bear’s Harley while Charlie got behind Jessie’s Harley.

The Devil’s Cowboys raced out of the parking lot and drove down the street after John.

John raced his Corolla down the street. He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw the Devil’s Cowboys on Harley’s after him. “Just my luck; Bart and Charlie joined a motorcycle gang!”

John fretted while he eyed his rearview mirror.

John raced his car down the street.

He screeched a right turn onto another street.

The Devil’s Cowboys followed on their Harleys.

John raced his Corolla down that street.

He screeched a left turn onto another street.

The Devil’s Cowboys followed on their Harleys.

John looked in his rearview mirror and hoped he lost them.

He wanted to cry when he saw they were still on his tail.

John looked ahead, his eyes widening in shock, and slammed on his brakes. His Corolla screeched and fishtailed to a stop inches from the back end of another car in traffic.

Bart and Charlie fired their pistols from the Harleys. Bullets penetrated the rear end of John’s Corolla. John grabbed his duffel bag and backpack from the passenger floorboard. He opened his door, got out, and ran away.

John ran between the cars that were stopped because of a traffic accident up ahead at the traffic light.

John looked ahead and ran toward the Paradise Valley Mall, which looked like a safe place to hide.

The Devil Cowboys rode up next to the Corolla. They stopped, and Bart looked inside and saw it was empty.

Bart looked down the street and saw John while he ran through the Paradise Valley Mall parking lot.

“There he is!” Bart yelled and pointed at the mall parking lot. Traffic started to move a little around the accident. A car behind the Corolla blew its horn at the Devil’s Cowboys.

Bart got pissed and looked behind him. He aimed his pistol at the car and fired at the car.

Steam hissed out of that car’s radiator when it was hit by a bullet. The man got out and ran away, scared down the street.

The Devil Cowboys raced down the street and headed to the Paradise Valley Mall parking lot.

John ran through the mall parking lot. He looked behind him and saw the Devil’s Cowboys while they raced through the lot after him.

John ran to some glass doors, opened them, and ran inside the mall.

He turned left and ran down the mall in Macy’s direction.

John ran through the mall. He didn’t know where to go and figured he would run until he didn’t see those Harleys anymore.

The Devil’s Cowboys crashed their Harleys through the glass doors to save time.

John stopped and turned around. He saw people while they ran and dove for cover while the Devil’s Cowboys raced their Harleys down the mall.

John didn’t know where to go but saw a Champs Sports store. He figured he could dodge in there and run out the back door.

John ran into the Champs Sports store.

John stopped when he heard the Harleys. He turned around and saw the Devil’s Cowboys at the entrance of Champs Sports.

“We got ya cornered, you yellow-belly. You shouldn’t have stolen our money,” Bart yelled.

“You shouldn’t have killed that deputy,” John yelled back.

“You killed him. Didn’t he, Charlie?” Bart yelled.

“Yeah, he did. The Kissing Bandit killed Elmer Filson,”

Charlie yelled so everybody could hear.

People in Champs Sports looked scared at seeing a motorcycle gang at the entrance.

John dropped to the floor and scampered through racks of sports clothes.

The Devil’s Cowboys inched their Harleys inside the store.

Bart and Charlie stood up on their Harleys. They scanned the store while the Devil’s Cowboys slowly inched farther down the central aisle of the store.

“Come out, Mathers, you’re going to die, so you might as well get it over with now,” Bart yelled.

John scampered down an aisle near the end of the store, then he stopped and looked around.

John saw a bin of baseballs ten feet away toward the central aisle and scampered over to them. He grabbed a couple of baseballs, then scampered to the central aisle and stood up.

“I’m over here, Bart,” he yelled, hoping his plan would work.

The Devil’s Cowboys stopped their Harleys. Bart saw John at the end of the central aisle.

He laid his duffel bag and backpack on the floor. He stood in the central aisle and faced the Devil’s Cowboys at the other end of the aisle by the entrance doors.

Bart aimed his pistol at John while Bear raced his Harley down the central aisle.

All the customers and employees in Champs Sports ran scared out of the entrance.

John went into his pitcher’s wind-up, threw the baseball at Bear’s approaching Harley.

The ball smacked Bear in his forehead. Bear’s eyes crossed, and he lost control of his bike. He crashed into a merchandise display, Bart flew off in the air, and he crash-landed in another merchandising display.

Charlie stood up on Jesse’s Harley while he raced after John.

John took another wind-up, threw the ball at Jesse’s approaching Harley.

The ball smacked Jesse in his left eye. He lost control and crashed into another merchandising display. Charlie flew in the air and crash-landed in another merchandising display.

John looked proud of himself, and for the first time, he was thankful to his mother for forcing him to play baseball. He picked up his duffel bag and backpack.

He ran to the door at the store’s end, opened it, went inside, and left it open.

John ran through the storeroom, headed to the back door, opened it, and ran outside to the parking lot.

Bart and Charlie got up in pain.

Bear and Jesse got their Harleys upright.

Bart and Charlie got on Bear and Jesse’s Harleys.” Let’s try to find him,” Bart said.

Bear looked and saw the back door was open.

“He’s outside,” Bear said.

Bear turned his Harley around and drove down the central aisle to the store entrance.

Jesse and the other Devil’s Cowboys followed.

People ran scared while the Devil’s Cowboys raced their Harleys down the mall to the exit they crashed through.

John ran through the parking lot.

A city bus drove to the bus stop in front of the mall.

John ran faster to the bus stop. He got there just in time.

The bus stopped, and the doors opened.

John rushed inside the bus, quickly opening his wallet and giving the driver the fare.

He rushed to an empty seat and sat down.

The bus drove off down the street, and John felt relieved.

From the bus windows, he watched while the Devil’s Cowboys drove out of the exit they crashed through.

The Devil Cowboys Harley’s drove through the parking lot.

Bart and Charlie stood up and scanned the lot, and John was nowhere near.

“Where did he go?” Charlie asked.

“He got away,” Bart said, then he thought for a second and smiled. “He’s on foot, so he ain’t very far,” Bart added.

Bart and Charlie reloaded their pistols.

“Let’s get the scoundrel,” Bart said, then patted Bear’s shoulder.

The Devil’s Cowboys raced their Harleys through the parking lot, searching for John.

Chapter 15

It’s later that Monday.

Alicia and Clint left the police station and headed to the parking lot. Clint’s clothes were clean, his face shaved, his hair washed, and he looked like a new man.

“The District Attorney’s not going to charge you, but I would like you to stay with me until we catch these two shooters.

Plus, since you’re from the past, I can’t leave you running around in the future. You’ll get hurt, and I don’t want that to happen,” Alicia told him.

Clint tipped his cowboy hat at Alicia. “Ma’am, it would be my pleasure to ride with you. After all, I was hunting bad guys before your great-grandma was born,” Clint said.

Alicia smiled as she was actually looking forward to spending time with Clint. She began liking him, as he differed from all the other men she dated.

A police officer ran out of the Police station. “Detective Hernandez!” he called out.

She turned around and stopped when she saw him.

“We got a report of two cowboys and bikers were shooting and chasing after a young man down by the Paradise Valley Mall.

Then, before that, there was a shooting at the Sandy Mountain apartment complex. The suspects in both shootings had the same descriptions. Plus, there’s a Corolla left in traffic by the mall that belongs to a John Mathers,” the officer told her.

“Do you know anything about these bikers?” Alicia asked.

“The Devil’s Cowboys,” the officer responded.

“Send a unit over to the hangout of the Devil’s Cowboys and see if a Bart Stone or Charlie Chandler are hanging out with them. If they are, detain them for questioning,” she told the officer.

“In work,” the officer replied.

“Thanks,” Alicia told the officer, who turned around and returned to the station.

“Let’s go and catch us some outlaws!” Clint said to Angie, looking determined.

Alicia and Clint walked up to her unmarked police car.

Alicia got inside behind the wheel.

Clint stood by the passenger door, confused at this modern technology. “How do I get inside this thing? Clint pondered.

Alicia got out and walked around the car to Clint.

“I forgot you’ve never been inside a car,” she said.

“This thing is called a car?” Clint responded.

“Car or automobile,” she said, then opened his door.

Clint looked amazed as he got inside. She closed his door, walked around, and got inside behind the wheel.

Clint watched in amazement while Angie started the car and drove off.

He couldn’t believe his eyes while he watched Angie drive down the street.

Meanwhile, John sat on the city bus while driving through the Phoenix streets. He didn’t know where to get off, so he decided to stay seated until something safe came to mind.

The Devil’s Cowboys drove down the numerous streets around the Paradise Valley Mall. They all scanned the area for any sightings of John.

Charlie spotted a sexy young woman, twenty-five years old, who wore a sundress that revealed her 38D breasts, walking down the sidewalk up ahead. Charlie got horny watching this sexy woman. He leaned closer to Jesse for a closer look at this hot chick.

Jesse’s eyes saddened widen in fear when he felt something poking at his back. Jesse screeched his Harley to a stop, and he jumped off. The Harley leaned over, and Charlie fell off and hit the street.

As did the other Devil’s Cowboys, Bear sensed something was wrong and stopped his Harley. He turned around and looked at Jesse.

“What’s wrong?” Bear yelled at Jesse.

“Charlie here has a pump tent in his britches!” Jesse yelled back and pointed at Charlie’s crotch.

“Sorry. The ladies back home don’t walk around half nakie,” Charlie said, then blushed.

All of the Devil’s Cowboys chuckled at Charlie and Jesse.

“Enough! We got work to do,” Bart scolded everybody.

Jesse got his Harley upright and removed his jean jacket.

He rolled it up and placed it at his backside while Charlie got on in the back of him. The rolled jacket was for protecting Jesse’s backside.

“Keep your eyes shut, Charlie!” Jesse ordered.

The Devil’s Cowboys rode their Harleys down the street.

Alicia drove her unmarked car down one of the Phoenix streets.

Clint looked at the dashboard and was fascinated by all the knobs and gadgets.

Alicia reached over and turned on the radio. A Toby Keith song I Love This Bar played on the radio.

Clint looked around the car and couldn’t figure out where country music originated. “Where’s the band?” he asked her while searching around the car.

Alicia chuckled and pointed to the radio. “It’s called a radio. It plays music,” she said.

Clint looked amazed at the radio. “Well, I’ll be,” he said while he touched the radio, surprised at it.

At the Sandy Mountain apartment complex, Angie finished packing her suitcase in her bedroom to visit her parents in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She undressed and walked naked to her bathroom at the other end of her bedroom.

The Devil’s Cowboys drove their Harleys with Bart and Charlie to the parking lot of the Sandy Mountain apartment complex. They parked in the lot and turned off their engines.

Bart and Charlie got off the Harleys. “We’ll be right back,”

Bart told Bear, who nodded he understood.

Bart and Charlie rushed to the complex buildings.

Angie finished her shower and stepped out, then grabbed a towel and dried off.

Angie left the bathroom, walked to her dresser, and opened a drawer, removing panties and a bra. She slipped on the panties, then wore her bra.

Bart and Charlie stood at Angie’s apartment door.

A woman, fifty-five years old, had just stepped out of her apartment next to Angie’s. She glanced over and saw Bart and Charlie. Then saw Bart kick Angie’s door getting scared and rushed back into her apartment.

Angie heard her front door being kicked, and it scared the crap out of her, so she jumped a mile.

Bart and Charlie entered her living room with their pistols drawn.

“Where are you, Mathers? We want our money!” Angie heard Bart yell out from her living room. She got scared and hid under her bed and prayed she wouldn’t be killed.

Off in another area of Phoenix, the bus stopped at a stop near a QuikTrip convenience store. John got off the bus with his duffel bag and backpack and walked to the pay phone on the store’s wall.

In Angie’s apartment, Bart walked over and ransacked a bookcase. He dumped all the contents of the bookcase on the floor.

Charlie opened a closet door, peeked inside, removed a golf club bag full of clubs, and he admired it. He smirked with an idea while he grabbed a nine-iron, held it in his hands, and smashed the club into the drywall. “Yahooo!” Charlie yelled out while he repeatedly beat the drywall with that nine-iron.

Angie’s cell phone rang on her coffee table.

Bart and Charlie looked around, curious for the source of that ringing.

They walked around the room while her cell phone rang and searched for the source of that odd sound.

Bart walked by the coffee table and saw the cell phone.

Bart picked it up looking it over.

“Angie?” John called out from her cell phone. “Angie? Are you there? It’s me, John. Get out of your apartment now!”

John added from her cell phone.

Bart heard John’s voice from the phone. “Where are you, mister Bandit?” Bart yelled into the phone.

At the payphone at the QuikTrip convenience store, John got scared when he realized Bart was on Angie’s cell phone.

“Bart?” John asked to make sure.

“You need to come to your girlfriend’s home with our loot.

Because when we find her, we’ll kill her if you don’t,” Bart threatened from the phone.

“I’m on my way,” John said, then hung up.

John looked around the parking lot for the convenience of a ride to Angie’s apartment. He saw a woman, about twenty-five years old, at the gas pump, and he rushed over to her.

“Excuse me, I’m desperate for a ride to my girlfriend’s house. Can you give me a lift?” he asked. “I need to save her from some eighteen-eighty-three outlaws!” he pleaded.

She looked at his duffel bag and backpack. She immediately thought he was a homeless bum and a possible crazy serial killer. “Sorry, I can’t do that,” she replied, stopping pumping gas and placing her nozzle back.

She rushed away from John and headed to the store wondering if she would see him on a future Dateline episode.

John walked away, disappointed, and headed to the sidewalk.

Bart dropped Angie’s cell phone to the floor in Angie’s apartment. He smashed it with his cowboy boot.

Charlie continued smashing everything in sight with the nine-iron club, followed by a cowboy yell.

Bart smiled at the sight of Charlie while he had fun with the golf club. “Let’s check the other rooms,” Bart told him.

Outside the parking lot, the Devil’s Cowboys waited on their Harleys. Then something felt wrong, and Bear looked at the street. He saw a police car turn into the parking lot.

“Jesse, go get Bart and Charlie. The cops are here. We better git,” Bear said.

Jesse acknowledged and got off his Harley. He ran to the apartment buildings.

Bart and Charlie walked down the hallway of Angie’s apartment.

Alicia parked her unmarked car near the roped-off area on Phoenix Street by the Paradise Valley Mall. She and Clint exited the car and walked over to where two police officers stood guarding John’s Corolla in the street. One of them had some papers on the trunk of the Corolla.

The one officer glanced at Alicia while she walked up to him. “We traced this Corolla to a John Mathers,” he said, then picked up the papers and handed them to Alicia.

“Also found these receipts in the glove box,” he added, then handed her the papers.

Alicia read the first receipt and looked surprised. She read the second receipt, then quickly read the third receipt.

“This is strange; he traded a new Mustang in for this old Corolla and bought a bunch of old gold and silver coins. Why would he do that?” she asked, a little baffled.

“Doesn’t make sense to me,” Clint said.

Alicia and Clint walked back to her unmarked car. Her cell phone rang, and she answered it. Clint curiously watched.

“Alicia,” she answered.

“We got a call that someone broke into a Sandy Mountain apartment complex apartment. The apartment belongs to Angie Dawson, and the witness said the Devil’s Cowboys were the ones that kicked in the apartment door,” Hector said over the phone.

“Could be our guys, and maybe she’s connected with Mathers,” Alicia said.

“I checked where John works, and he had a girlfriend named Angie Dawson, according to the employees there,”

Hector replied over her cell phone.

“I’ll check it out,” Alicia said, then disconnected her call.

Clint looked amazed at the cell phone.

“We believe your two outlaws busted in a girl’s apartment, and she might be connected to Mathers,” Alicia told Clint. “Did you get that information from that little contraption?” he asked.

“It’s called a cell phone,” she said while she showed it to Clint. “You have much to learn about the future,” she chuckled.

Clint looked in awe at the cell phone. “People of the future sure have fancy gadgets,” he said, impressed.

Alicia chuckled while they got inside her car.

Back in Angie’s apartment, Bart and Charlie opened up Angie’s dresser drawers. He dumped out all the contents of the drawers on the floor.

Charlie saw Angie’s panties on the floor. He picked up a black pair and looked them over. “Bart, look at these fancy bloomers,” he said with a horny grin.

Bart smacked the panties out of his hand. “We don’t have time for that. We need to find our loot,” he told Charlie.

Under her bed, Angie only saw their cowboy boots. Her eyes welled up, scared to death; they might rape and then kill her. Bart walked to her bed, and she could sense he had removed her covers and bed sheet.

“Bart, Bear said the cops might be on their way here. We better leave or risk being arrested,” Jesse told Bart and Charlie from the bedroom doorway.

Bart and Charlie ran out of Angie’s bedroom. They ran out of Angie’s apartment with Jesse. Bart, Charlie, and Jesse ran through the apartment complex and got to the Devil’s Cowboys.

They quickly got on the Harleys.

The Devil’s Cowboys started up their Harleys, and they raced out of the parking lot and to the street.

They raced off down the street.

John saw a man pump gas into his Chevy Silverado pickup truck, and he approached him.

“Excuse me, sir, but I must get to my girlfriend’s apartment. Can you give me a ride?” he asked the man. The man looked at John and felt leery of him. John showed the man an 1882 silver dollar in mint condition. “I can pay for the ride,”

John said.

The man saw the silver dollar and knew it was worth lots of money. “Sure, why not,” the man said, then snatched the silver dollar from John’s hands and placed it in his pocket.

Angie’s unmarked car pulled into the parking lot of the Sandy Mountain apartment complex. A police car followed her car for backup. They both parked, and Alicia, Clint, and two police officers rushed to the apartment buildings.

They walked to Angie’s apartment and saw the front door was kicked down. Alicia and the other two police officers removed their pistols.

The officers stepped inside while Alicia waited with Clint outside.

A few minutes later, the officers walked back outside. “It’s clear,” one of the officers told Alicia.

Alicia placed her pistol back in her holster. She entered Angie’s apartment, and Clint followed.

Angie’s apartment looked like a tornado came through, and the walls were full of holes.

“Let’s pray they don’t have her,” she told Clint while they walked through her living room. They saw the contents of her bookcase on the floor.

She walked over and saw Angie’s smashed cell phone on the floor.

Alicia and Clint walked down the hallway.

They entered her bedroom and saw her clothes scattered on the floor from her dresser.

Angie sobbed from under the bed, and Alicia and Clint heard her.

Alicia quickly removed her pistol and aimed it at the bed.

“I’m Detective Alicia Hernandez from the Phoenix Police Department. Come out from under the bed.”

Angie crawled out, in panties and a bra, from under the bed. Her eyes were red and watery, and she was shaken and scared.

Clint saw Angie, and his eyes widened. He quickly turned away, embarrassed.

“Are you Angie Dawson?” Alicia asked her.

Angie nodded in agreement.

“Do you know a John Mathers?” Alicia asked her.

“He was my boyfriend,” Angie responded. Or, was my boyfriend,” she corrected herself.

Clint looked around the floor. He saw a tee shirt and jean shorts. He picked them up, closed his eyes, and handed them to her. “Ma’am.”

Angie grabbed the tee shirt and pants and quickly got dressed.

“Do you know where your boyfriend might be at this moment?” Alicia asked.

“I don’t know. John became so infatuated with old western outlaws, I broke up with him,” Angie said. She looked at Alicia.

“I think the guys that broke into my apartment are the same guys that came looking for John at work,” Angie said.

“They would be Bart Stone and Charlie Chandler,” Clint said.

“Who are you?” Angie asked.

Clint removed his cowboy hat and opened one eye to ensure Angie was decent. She was decent, so he opened up his other eye. “Ma’am. I’m Clint Bartley, the Marshal of Oak Creek,” he said.

“I’ve never heard of Oak Creek,” Angie said.

“It’s a long story, and you might not believe it,” Alicia said while she patted Clint on his shoulder.

“One of those guys yelled something about where his money was. I don’t have their money,” Angie stated.

“Angie, the money has something to do with your boyfriend,” Alicia said.

“They robbed the Oak Creek bank before my deputy was shot and killed. From what I hear, John ran off with the loot,”

Clint said.

“Robbed a bank? Killed a deputy? What the hell is going on?” Angie said, totally confused.

“I’ll tell you as soon as we get you to a safe place,” Alicia said, then thought for a second. “You can stay at my place.”

Angie nodded in agreement.

They left her bedroom.

They exited her apartment, and the police officer finished writing on a pad of paper, then he looked at Alicia.

“I have a witness who claims that the two men who broke into Miss Dawson’s apartment were bald and wore jean jackets with Devil’s Cowboys on the back with a devil in a cowboy hat cartoon,” the officer told her while they walked away.

“Devil’s Cowboys,” she said while they walked to the parking lot.

The man in the Chevy Silverado dropped John off in the parking lot of the Stone Mountain apartment complex.

Alicia made a call on her cell phone while she walked through the parking lot with Clint and Angie.

“Hector, the Devil’s Cowboys motorcycle gang, broke into Angie Dawson’s place. Did you see any movement at their hangouts?” she said into the cell phone.

“It’s quiet here,” Hector replied from her cell.

“Okay. Let me know when you see them,” she said.

“Will do,” Hector replied.

She disconnected her call and shoved it into the pocket of her pants.

John walked through the lot and then saw the police car.

He got suspicious and then ducked behind a parked car.

He peeked over the hood of the car. He saw Angie with Clint, Alicia, and the two police officers while they walked to the police cars. She’s safe. He thought to himself, then sat down by the car’s wheel.

He peeked above the car’s hood and watched while Alicia’s unmarked car drove out of the parking lot with Clint and Angie.

The other police car followed Alicia’s car.

John sat back down and waited by the wheel of that parked car.

Chapter 16

Later that Monday, the sun settled to the west with a beautiful orange and purple sunset.

John walked to another Circle K convenience store in Mesa. He walked up to a payphone and deposited some coins, making a call.

“Frank.”

“It’s me, John,” he responded.

“What’s going on with you? I heard Richard fired you.

Plus, a detective was here asking questions. Am I going to see you on America’s Most Wanted?” Frank answered the phone.

“I can’t explain it now, but I need a huge favor. Do you still want to sell the old pickup with that trailer hitch?” he asked.

“Sure, but what’s going on?” Frank asked.

“It’s an urgent matter of life and death, and I don’t have time to explain. Can you meet me with the truck? And make sure you have a ride home as I’m leaving town,” John said.

“Am I going to be arrested for accessory to some crime?”

Frank asked, concerned.

“No. You don’t have anything to worry about. Trust me,”

John ensured.

“Okay. Where should I meet you?” Frank asked.

“I’m at the Circle K on Southern Avenue in Mesa,” John said. “Okay. I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” Frank said, then he disconnected his end of the call.

While Alicia drove to her house in Marley Park, located in Surprise, Arizona, she and Clint got Angie up to speed on the recent events involving John.

Angie sat stunned in the backseat, thinking that time travel was real. “There’s no way John would kill anybody,” Angie said.

“Bart claims that John shot and killed my deputy and friend Elmer,” Clint replied.

“Bart’s lying,” Angie said with confidence. “John was obsessed with old western outlaws, and I think he went back in time to place himself in the history books. But I will never believe he would kill another human being,” Angie added.

“I don’t care; I want to bring John, Bart, and Charlie before Judge Peter Peabody. He’ll determine who is the guilty one,”

Clint said.

“Why did John run?” Alicia asked Angie.

“He’s scared. He thinks he’s a bad outlaw, but inside, he’s a chicken,” Angie said.

“Well, I wish we could find him before those outlaws do.

Then we can get to the bottom of this whole mess,” Alicia said.

Angie looked out her window and wondered where John could be hiding.

Alicia’s cell phone rang, and she answered it.

“I found out the Devil’s Cowboys operate a whorehouse called the Devil’s Playpen. I have that place under surveillance,”

Hector told Alicia over her cell.

“Great,” she said. “Let me know if those two outlaws have been spotted.”

The Devil’s Cowboys drove their Harleys to their house, but when they were down the street, Bear noticed a police car parked near their home. He made a quick U-turn, and the gang rode off.

The officer in the police car didn’t notice the Devil’s Cowboys leaving because he fell asleep bored from his surveillance job.

The Devil’s Cowboys drove to the Devil’s Playpen. But Bear also noticed another police car watching their establishment. He quickly turned the gang around, and they raced away down the street.

That police officer didn’t notice the Harleys, as he was too busy eying the young escort in a bikini sunbathing out front.

Frank drove his Chevy 1500 pickup truck to the QuikTrip convenience store, and his wife drove behind him in her Civic.

He parked his pickup truck by the pay phone. His wife parked her Civic at a gas pump.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Frank asked John while he got out of his pickup.

John hesitated for a second. “Dodge City.”

“Why there?”

“Just seems like the place to live,” John responded.

“Are you sure I won’t see you on America’s Most Wanted?”

Frank asked.

“I’m sure. Nine hundred, right?” John asked.

“Yep,” Frank replied.

John wrote a check for nineteen hundred dollars. He handed Frank the check, and he handed John the keys.

They shook hands to seal the deal.

“Good luck in Dodge City,” Frank said, then walked to his wife, who finished pumping gas.

John got in the Chevy pickup with his duffel bag and backpack. He started it up and drove out of the parking lot and down the street.

John drove to the nearest Lowes and purchased a small garden transplanter. He wanted a shovel, but this would work just fine. After shoving the transplanter in his duffel bag, he drove off.

John drove to the nearest Wal-Mart. There, he bought some bags of jerky and various snacks that would feed him for a couple of days while he was on the trail in 1883. He also bought paper, a pen, a black Sharpie, cloth bags, a knife, and a lighter.

John drove to Rusty’s Desert Horse Ranch and Stables and hooked his horse trailer to the hitch on his pickup.

He went inside the stable and got his horse.

It was getting dark while John drove his pickup down U.S.

60 to the Superstition Mountains.

He was paranoid while he glanced at his outside mirrors.

Some motorcycle headlights shined in the outside mirror.

John looked and knew it was a motorcycle. He got scared.

“How did they find me?” John cried out loud, and he needed a weapon. “But what could he use? he thought. Then

saw a hammer on the passenger floor and reached down and grabbed it.

The motorcycle got in the passing lane, and John got really nervous.

The motorcycle stayed even with his window.

John quickly rolled down his window, leaned out with the hammer, and waved it at the motorcycle like a weapon.

“Aaaaahhhh!” John screamed at them. Then he saw a Honda Goldwing motorcycle riding next to his pickup.

John saw an old lady passenger whose eyes were as big as baseballs while John threatened them with his hammer.

She pounded the old man’s driver on his back. “Get us out of here! He’s a lunatic!” she screamed at the old man while she beat the back of his shoulder.

John realized it was an innocent old couple and returned his hammer to his pickup. He felt like a jerk while he watched the Honda Goldwing while it raced off down the road ahead of him. Bear and the Devil’s Cowboys drove north of Apache Junction to a deserted area with a doublewide trailer all by its lonesome self. This trailer belonged to his Uncle Walter, who was in Los Angeles.

Later that night, inside the trailer, Charlie sat on a couch, amazed, while Billy and Butch smashed empty beer cans on their foreheads.

Charlie took his beer can and rammed it hard into his head.

His eyes crossed, and he almost passed out. Billy and Butch laughed at Charlie.

Bart stood with Bear at the end of the room.

“I still need to find Mathers and get my loot,” Bart said.

“Why don’t we just give up on him and start our adventure back to eighteen eighty-three. We can divide up into three groups. Charlie, you and I can each lead a group of outlaws,”

Bear said.

Bart thought about what Bear offered, and then he smiled.

“I like the way you think. And with Marshal Bartley here in your jail, our chances of getting arrested have vanished,” Bart said.

Candy, Melinda, and Sadie entered the trailer with five boxes of Domino’s pizza and six six-packs of Budweiser.

The Devil’s Cowboys rushed up and quickly snatched the boxes away from them.

“We’ll need eight horses. Do you know where we can get some?” Bart asked.

Bear thought for a second. “Yeah, I know this guy who owns a ranch near here. Rusty loves to visit Melinda, so I think he’ll give us a good deal,” Bear replied with a smirk.

Bear looked at his jean jacket. “We’ll need some new clothes,” Bear said.

Bart looked at the jean jacket and then smiled. “No, these will strike fear in the folks back in eighty-eighty-three,” Bart replied.

“Good, then we’ll head out tomorrow morning. But first, we’ll need some lessons on horse riding, and Rusty can also take care of that,” Bear replied.

“We’ll need more pistols,” Bart added.

“We can call in a few markers in the morning,” Bear said.

Jesse walked up and handed Bart a slice of pizza.

Bart looked at it and didn’t know what to think. He took a bite, and he liked it!

Later that night, John parked his pickup at the dirt parking lot near the trails into the Superstition Mountains.

John dropped silver and gold coins in four cloth bags. He marked one Oak Creek, then one Stone Valley, then one Southern Pacific, and then the last one Butterfield. He tied them up and shoved them in his duffel bag then used the pad of paper and pen writing notes to leave in the bags.

Thirty minutes later, John finished with his notes and placed them in his duffel bag. He grabbed his backpack and placed it against his door as a pillow. John rested his head down and stretched his feet out on the seat. He closed his eyes and started to fall asleep when his passenger door creaked open.

John’s eyes widen, scared, as he thought it was Bart coming to kill him.

He looked and saw a skinny homeless bum at the passenger door, and he was relieved it wasn’t Bart. “What do you want?” he asked the bum.

“I need a place to eat,” he said, then moved John’s feet off the passenger seat and sat down. He closed the passenger door.

“It’s cold outside,” the bum said, holding a whiskey bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. He took a sip of whiskey from the bottle.

John leaned over, grabbed the duffel bag off the passenger floor, and laid it on his floorboard by his shoes.

“Excuse me, but this is my truck, and I would like you to leave,” John demanded.

“After you have a drink with me, I’ll leave,” the bum said and looked determined that he wouldn’t get out.

The bum handed John the whiskey bottle.

John looked at the bottle and decided to take a drink so the bum would leave. He took a swig, and he coughed and coughed.

The bum laughed a raspy laugh.

Thirty minutes passed, and John still held the bum’s whiskey bottle and was woozy from the booze.

“I can’t believe it. I lost my girl. I lost my job. Now two outlaws want to kill me, and a Marshal wants to arrest me,” John whined to the bum, then took another swig of whiskey.

“Me too,” the bum said, then reached for the bottle, but John took another swig, and the bum almost fell in John’s lap.

“I don’t know why I had to become an outlaw. I was so stupid for doing that. Why the hell did I go back in time?” John said. “Me too,” the bum said, then bum reached for the bottle.

John took a long swig, then his eyes crossed, and he passed out, and his head smacked the window sill of the door.

The bum snatched the whiskey bottle out of John’s hand.

He took a big gulp of whiskey and glanced at John.

“Wussy!” the bum called John, then got out of the pickup and slammed the door shut.

The bum walked off into the desert night.

Over at Al’s Used Car lot, Rodney, a seventeen-year-old local high school football quarterback, looked at all the used cars in the lot with his father. The kid worked hard for the past two years and saved up for his first car, and his father promised to help him buy one. He wanted something sporty to impress the girls at school.

They walked upon John’s Mustang, and the teenager liked what he saw. His father walked around the car and checked it out.

“This is the car I want,” Rodney said.

“I don’t think so,” his father said from the rear of the Mustang.

“Why not?” Rodney asked.

“Because it has bullet holes in the rear,” the father replied.

Rodney’s eyes lit up when he heard that, and he ran to the car’s rear. He looked at the bullet holes in awe. “Cool! I love this car,” Rodney said excitedly as he thought this would make him even cooler at school.

A salesman walked up to Rodney and his father. “Find something you like?” the salesman asked.

“I want this Mustang,” Rodney said, all excited.

“I don’t think so. I mean, it has bullet holes in the rear end,” the father replied.

“It’s like a gangster car. I’ll be king, and the girls will love me,” Rodney said excitedly.

“Well, I think we can do a little negotiating on the price,”

the salesman offered.

The father’s ears perked up as he knew he could knock down the price.

They walked off and headed to the sales office.

Back at Alicia’s house, Angie slept in a lazy boy chair in the living room.

At the other end of the room, Clint played a classical song on the piano with Alicia by his side. Two glasses of red wine were on top of the piano. He stopped playing, and they both took a sip of wine.

“Where did you learn to play the piano?” she asked, impressed with his playing ability.

“My mother was a piano teacher, and she made me spend hours at the ivory keys,” Clint replied.

“Were you born in Oak Creek?”

“No, I was born and raised in San Francisco. I moved out here for some adventure. Were you born in Phoenix?”

“Born and raised. My father was stationed in the Air Force here in Arizona. That’s where he met my mother,” Alicia said, then took another sip of wine.

“Air Force? What’s that?” Clint asked, then took a sip of wine. “It’s kinda like the Calvary in the sky,” Alicia said.

Clint thought about her response. “The future sure is interesting,” he said.

“It has its moments. You know. I guess I didn’t pay attention in history class; where was Oak Creek located?”

“A bit northwest of the Miners Needle in the Superstition Mountains,” he answered.

“Can you show me? I’m curious where you came from.”

“It would be my pleasure,” he said and was happy she was interested in his life.

Alicia and Clint gazed into each other’s eyes. He wanted to kiss her, and she wanted to kiss him. Clint chickened out and took a drink of wine but missed his mouth and spilled some on his shirt.

Alicia noticed and touched the stain. “Let’s try to remove the stain,” she said with her head close to his.

Clint looked at Alicia, and then he leaned closer to her lips.

He got nervous about kissing her, so he pulled away.

“Yes. We should wash my shirt,” he said.

Alicia got up and grabbed Clint’s hand. She walked him out of the living room and into her laundry room.

Later that night, Alicia let Angie use her other guest bedroom. She got a blanket and extra pillow, and Clint had her couch in the living room as his bed.

An hour after Clint fell fast asleep, Alicia tiptoed into the living room. She gathered up his clothes and tiptoed out of the living room.

Alicia entered her laundry room and placed Clint’s clothes in her washer. She put in some soap and turned on the washing machine.

She tiptoed back into the living room and wished he didn’t have return to 1883 while she watched him sleep.

Chapter 17

The sun rose and shined through John’s truck windows for the start of Tuesday morning. It’s September 5th, 2006.

The sun hit John’s face. He woke up with a splitting headache and a small knot on the side of his head where he smacked the door sill. His eyes crossed, he immediately opened his door and ran out of the truck.

He bent over and vomited into the dirt, then straightened up, looking around, then remembering his situation.

John walked back to the truck and removed his backpack and duffel bag. He opened the duffel bag, removing his cowboy hat and old western clothes. Nobody was in sight, so he quickly changed clothes, leaving his 2006 clothes on the truck floorboard. John looked like he did back in 1883, minus his cartridge belt and pistol.

John shoved his backpack in the duffel bag, walked to the horse trailer, and went inside through the side door.

John backed his horse out of the trailer. He got in the saddle of his horse with his duffel bag in hand.

He rode his horse off to the trail.

Back at Alicia’s house, she cooked breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, and coffee. Clint acted like a gentleman and assisted.

They ate with idle chitchat, and after they finished, Angie and Alicia sat at the dining room table and drank coffee.

Clint played the piano in the living room, and his classical song was soothing.

Angie looked at the “Outlaws and Lawmen of Arizona”

book. She looked at the section on “John Mathers, alias the Kissing Bandit” and saw the picture of John, Bart, and Charlie in Rattlesnake. “It is so weird seeing John in a history book,”

Angie said while she stared at the old picture. “This is exactly what he wanted,” she added. She took another sip of her

coffee. “I thought he was flipping out with those stories of traveling back in time to become an outlaw.”

“But there’s now a strange twist. He recently bought back everything he stole,” Alicia said.

“I don’t know what he’s up to,” Angie said, then closed the book.

Alicia looked over at Clint and smiled over the sight of him at the piano. “Hard to imagine a talented man wanting to become a western Marshal,” Alicia said, then her eyes widened with an idea. “Clint, why don’t you show me where Oak Creek was once located,” Alicia yelled.

Clint stopped playing the piano, got up, and walked into the kitchen.

“We’ll need some horses. I don’t think that thing you call a car can make it in the mountains,” Clint said.

“I know of a place where we can rent some,” she said, then looked at Angie. “It would be safer if you stayed here. We have units on the lookout for the Devil’s Cowboys,” she added.

“Okay, I’ll just chill and watch TV,” Angie replied. “Help yourself to anything in the fridge,” Alicia said. “Let’s go, partner,” Alicia said to Clint.

He smiled and assisted her out of her chair.

“I’m really loving this!” she told Angie.

Angie got jealous while she watched Clint escort Alicia out of the kitchen. She remembered something; he grabbed her cell phone and turned it on. She had a missed phone call from her mother, and she cringed that she had forgotten. Angie quickly punched in her mother’s phone number.

“Mom, it’s Angie.”

“Where are you? Dad and I are worried and sick. You didn’t call us with your flight information,” her mom said in a panic.

“I’m so sorry. Something came up, and I didn’t leave Phoenix.”

“Are you alright?” her mom asked.

“I’m fine. Just some serious work stuff came up, and I was the only one that could fix it,” she lied and didn’t want to tell her the truth because that would worry her to death.

“Are you coming home soon?”

“Hopefully, in a couple of days,” Angie replied.

” Okay, honey. Call us,” her mother said.

“I will,” Angie replied, then disconnected her call.

Angie laid her cell phone on the table and looked worried.

In the Phoenix area, Bear and the Devil’s Cowboys left the trailer and rode to another friend’s house in Apache Junction, where he picked up four pistols.

They rode off on their Harleys.

John rode his horse down Dutchman’s trail to Miners Needle.

He stopped his horse thirty feet from Crazy Hole, got out of his saddle, removed his shirt, then used it and covered his horse’s eyes. John looked at Crazy Hole, then looked the area over, as he wanted a last glance at 2006.

John walked his horse inside Crazy Hole.

He entered Crazy Hole and removed a flashlight from his duffel bag, turned it on, and his flashlight illuminated the cave while walking his horse deeper into Crazy Hole.

John soon came upon the Priest carving on the cave wall.

He looked at the hole that remained after he dug up Bart’s saddlebag, reached into his duffel bag, removed the small transplanter, and started to dig the hole deeper.

Twenty minutes later, John dug up Charlie’s saddlebag. He opened it, and there was Charlie’s take on all the robberies. John shoved Charlie’s loot into the duffel bag, but while he did that, he didn’t notice an 1880 silver dollar fall out and drop back into the hole.

He looked at the tunnel to the right. “I want to return to September 19th, eighteen eighty-three,” he said.

He walked his horse into the tunnel with his saddlebag.

The blue plasma light illuminated the tunnel while John was inside.

The blue plasma light illuminated Crazy Hole while John walked his horse out. He removed his shirt off the horse’s head, then put on the shirt and looked around the area.

He looked back at Crazy Hole and knew he couldn’t return.

John hoped to somehow leave Angie a message that he loved her and was extremely sorry he screwed up. He tucked his shirt in his Levi’s and got back in the saddle of his horse with his duffel bag in hand.

He saw four horses that grazed one hundred feet from Crazy Hole. John recognized two of them as Bart and Charlie’s horses and suspected the other two belonged to Clint and the injured Indian.

He rode his horse to the south with his duffel bag tied to his saddle. John felt safe.

In 2006, Bear and the Devil’s Cowboys drove to another friend’s house in Mesa. He picked up three more pistols, and then they drove off on their Harleys.

Alicia drove Clint to Rusty’s Desert Horse Ranch and Stables.

She knew Rusty, as he was a detective she worked with when she first started. Rusty was kicked off the force after the department got sued when Rusty pistol-whipped a career child molester into a confession. He believed in the old ways of police work, which weren’t accepted during these times. His wife then left him two months after that because of his heavy drinking. So, he bought the horse ranch and tried to make it a successful business. But spent some of his profits at the Devil’s Playpen visiting Melinda.

Alicia walked into the stable.

“Rusty, it’s Alicia,” she called out.

Rusty came out of a stall and saw Alicia. He smiled as it had been years since he’d seen her. “Alicia, how have you been?” he asked while he walked over to her. Rusty gave her a quick hug.

“Good, listen, this is Clint Bartley,” Alicia said.

Rusty and Clint shook hands.

“You haven’t been in here for a while to ride,” Rusty said. “I know. Do you have two horses for us? We want a quick trip into the Superstition Mountains,” she said.

“No problem,” Rusty said, walking over to some stalls.

“How’s business?” she asked.

“Terrible,” he replied while walking a horse out into a stall.

Thirty minutes later, Alicia and Clint rode off into the Superstition Mountains on some horses.

Bear and the Devil’s Cowboys drove to another friend’s house in Avondale. They picked up an additional pistol and then drove off on their Harleys.

Alicia and Clint rode their horses for an hour, and then Clint stopped at an area where there was nothing but flat ground and scrub brushes.

“This looks like where Oak Creek was located,” Clint said, seeing the Salt River nearby. He got out of the saddle of his horse.

Alicia got out of the saddle of her horse.

Clint looked around and saw some small wooden foundations in the dirt. “Yep, Oak Creek used to be here at one time. But there’s nothing left of the place,” Clint said.

“Nature has a habit of erasing evidence from a long-ago era,” Alicia said while she looked the area over.

Clint looked around and saw a clump of brushes fifty feet away to the south. It looked familiar, and he ran to the bushes.

He stomped his way into the brushes and revealed a couple of old tombstones.

Alicia ran over to Clint.

“It’s our old cemetery,” Clint told her, then one of the tombstones caught his attention.

He moved deeper into the bushes. He looked at the tombstone and saw the faded letters. “Here lies Elmer Filson, Born August 9th, 1830, Shot September 17th, 1883 by Three Outlaws,” his tombstone read.

Clint’s eyes welled up as he brought back that horrible memory of Elmer’s dead body in the dirt street.

Alicia pushed her way into the bushes. She saw Elmer’s tombstone and noticed Clint was upset. She placed her hand on his shoulder for support. “I’m sorry about your deputy,” she comforted him.

“He was also a dear friend,” Clint said while exiting the bushes.

They spotted another tombstone to the left of Elmer’s.

“Here lies Peter Yoemans, Remains Found September fourteen, eighteen eighty, Cause of Death Unknown,” Peter’s tombstone read. Alicia glanced at Peter’s tombstone while they got out of the bushes but didn’t think anything of it.

Clint looked around the area that once was Oak Creek, and then he had a strong hunch. “I think it’s high time I do my job and catch Elmer’s killer,” Clint said determinedly.

“We have APBs out, and every cop in Phoenix has a photo of them. Plus, we are convinced they’re with a motorcycle gang called the Devil’s Cowboys.” Alicia said.

Clint’s hunch got stronger. “Can you take me to Merijildo?”

he asked her.

“No problem,” she said.

Clint looked determined while they walked back to their horses.

They got out of the saddles of their horses and rode away.

The Devil Cowboys rode their Harley down a Phoenix street. Bart rode with Bear on his Harley while Charlie rode with Billy on his Harley.

They turned their Harleys down another street.

Bart’s eyes widened, and he pointed straight ahead. He saw John’s Mustang as he recognized the bullet holes in the rear.

“There’s Mathers!” Bart yelled out while whipping out his pistol.

The Devil Cowboys raced their Harleys after the Mustang.

Inside the Mustang, Rodney drove with Cassie, a seventeen-year-old cheerleader, in the passenger seat.

Rodney knew he was going to get lucky with her. Those bullet holes in the rear impressed the hell out of her.

“Baby, you’re about to discover why they call me the Italian Stallion!” Rodney said with a cocky tone.

He leaned over and rubbed the inside of her thigh. She looked at him, and then here, eyes suddenly widened.

“Ahhhh!” she screamed and pointed at his door window in a panic.

He quickly pulled his hand off her thigh, then glanced out his window and saw Bart on the back of the Bear’s Harley with a pistol aimed at them. Rodney screamed a girlish scream at the sight of Bart. He got so scared, crapped in his pants, and then realized what he did and looked sick.

Bart motioned at Bear to leave. “It’s not Mathers,” Bart said from the outside. Rodney and the cheerleader watched while the Devil’s Cowboys raced down the street.

Rodney blushed and lifted his butt off his seat. The Mustang swerved all over the road.

The cheerleader sniffed the air inside the car, and it stunk!

She realized Rodney crapped in his pants, giving her the dry heaves. Cassie rolled down her window and stuck her head outside, sucking in the fresh air.

Rodney swerved the Mustang all over the road while he avoided sitting in his mess. She banged her head into the window sill and passed out. This is different from what Rodney had in mind for his hot date.

Alicia and Clint rode their horses to Rusty’s Desert Horse Ranch and Stables. They turned in their horses and returned to her car, and she drove off.

Thirty minutes later, the Devil’s Cowboys rode their Harleys into the parking area of Rusty’s Desert Horse Ranch and Stables. They parked their Harley’s and walked to the big stable.

Rusty finished putting Alicia and Clint’s horses away inside the stable in their stalls. He walked out of the stall and was surprised to be greeted by Bear.

“Hello, Rusty,” Bear said with a smirk.

“Ah, Bear. What are you doing here?” Rusty replied, a little nervous.

“I need some horse riding lessons for the boys and me, and then let us take the horses for a ride. And you will give us lessons for free,” Bear said.

“Free?” Rusty replied, a little intimidated.

“Yeah, because Melinda will be free the next time you visit.

Heck, I’ll even throw in Candy,” Bear said.

Rusty considered doing it with two girls, and he liked that idea. “It’s a deal!” he said, then walked to another stall with a horse inside.

Back in 1883, John galloped his horse to Stone Creek.

He rode down the main street and looked fearful someone would recognize him as an outlaw. But while he rode deeper into Stone Creek, nobody noticed he was the Kissing Bandit.

John rode his horse between the bank and the building next to it. He stopped and got out of the saddle of his horse, then opened his duffel bag and reached inside, removing the cloth bag marked Stone Creek.

John reached into his duffel bag, removed it, and glanced at the note.

“To Whom It May Concern. I’m sorry for robbing your bank. Here’s your money back. Please forgive me. John Mathers, alias The Kissing Bandit. I’ll never rob again as I quit being an outlaw,” John wrote previously on his note.

John tucked the note into the bag and then set the bag by the wall of the bank.

He got in the saddle of his horse, turned his horse around, and rode away.

John rode out of Stone Valley and then galloped his horse toward Phoenix.

In 2006, Alicia drove Clint to St. Joseph’s Hospital. She parked her car in the lot, and they walked to the hospital.

Inside his hospital room, Merijildo lay in his bed and pressed the buttons on the bed controls. The bed moved up, then it moved down. Merijildo had a ball while he repeated the up and downward movement of the bed, as it was like a carnival ride to him.

Mel read a magazine in a chair at the other end of the room. He smiled at his great-grandfather, watching him having a great time with the bed.

Clint and Alicia entered the room.

Merijildo saw Clint and smiled. “Clint, look at the fancy bed,” Merijildo said while he used the control, and the bed moved up and down, having a ball.

“Could you please us alone?” he asked Alicia.

“No problem,” she said, then left the room.

Clint walked over to Merijildo, who stopped the movement of the bed. “We’re going back to Oak Creek,” he said, then turned to Mel.

“Can you get us two horses and a rifle?” he asked Mel.

“Sure. I’ll call my son Victor. We have horses at our stable,” Mel said, then opened his cell phone and called.

Merijildo got out of the bed and walked to the bathroom door.

Clint looked while the backside of the gown flapped and exposed Merijildo’s butt cheeks.

“Whoa. Merijildo. You can’t go home dressed like that.”

Merijildo felt his exposed butt cheeks. “I do feel drafty on my butt,” he said.

Merijildo went inside his bathroom to change into his regular clothes.

“Victor, Dad. I need you to pick me up at St. Joseph’s Hospital,” Mel told Victor from his cell phone.

“Are you hurt?” Victor asked, extremely concerned.

“I’m fine. I’m with some friends, and they also need a ride.

Plus, have two horses and rifles ready,” he told Victor.

“Horses and rifles? What’s going on, Dad? I’m worried about you,” Victor said.

“Don’t worry. It’ll make sense when you meet my friends and hear their story,” Mel said.

“I’ll be there,” Victor replied.

Mel placed his cell phone in his pocket just as Merijildo exited the bathroom in his 1883 clothes.

At Rusty’s Desert Horse Ranch and Stables, the Devil’s Cowboys received riding lessons.

Jesse sat on the horse and looked intimidated while his horse rode around in circles. Then his horse galloped, and Jesse leaned to the side and almost fell out of his saddle. He sat straight up and started to ride like a professional, looking like a cowboy.

Back in 1883, John rode his horse into old Phoenix. While he rode, nobody noticed him or mentioned that he was John Mathers, the Kissing Bandit, so he felt safe.

John rode around Phoenix until he found the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach office and stopped his horse by the side of the office. He got out of the saddle of his horse, opened up his duffel bag, and removed a cloth bag marked “Lincoln” and a note. “To Whom It May Concern. I’m sorry for robbing your stagecoaches. Here’s your money back. Please forgive me. John Mathers, alias the Kissing Bandit. I’ll never rob again as I quit being an outlaw,” John previously wrote in this note.

John shoved the note in the bag, then laid the bag by the wall of the office.

He got in the saddle of his horse and rode off.

Later that day, John rode down three other streets of Phoenix, riding upon the office of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. He got out of the saddle of his horse, reached in his duffel bag, and removed a cloth bag marked “Southern Pacific”

and a note.

“To Whom It May Concern. I’m sorry for robbing your train. Here’s your money back. Please forgive me. John Mathers, alias the Kissing Bandit. I’ll never rob again as I quit being an outlaw,” John previously wrote in this note.

John dropped the note in the back, placed the bag by the office wall, looked at the sky, and knew the night would be here soon. He got in the saddle of his horse and rode off.

John rode out of Phoenix and headed to the Superstition Mountains.

Back in 2006, at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Mel cracked open Merijildo’s hospital room door. He peeked out and saw Alicia down at the nurse’s station.

“Have any updates on the Devil’s Cowboys?” Alicia asked Hector on her cell phone.

Alicia didn’t notice Clint, Merijildo, and Mel while they sneaked out of the hospital room. They ran toward the elevators at the end of the hallway.

“Have everybody keep their ears and eyes open,” she told him. A nurse at the station looked down the hallway, and then her eyes widened, and she got upset. “Hey! He can’t leave yet,”

the nurse yelled.

Alicia looked at the nurse and then looked down the hall.

She saw Clint, Merijildo, and Mel waiting at the elevators.

She quickly put away her cell phone. “Where you going, Clint?” she asked.

The elevator doors opened, and Clint, Merijildo, and Mel rushed inside. The doors closed just as Alicia ran up to them.

Outside St. Joseph’s Hospital, Victor drove his 2002 Chevy Silverado through the parking lot. He stopped by the front doors and waited, curious about his father’s antics.

The front doors slid open, and Mel, Clint, and Merijildo rushed out.

Mel saw Victor’s truck and ran over to it, and Clint and Merijildo followed.

Mel opened the passenger door for Merijildo, who looked amazed at seeing a vehicle while he sat inside. Clint looked lost while he stared at the pickup, and Mel noticed.

“You can sit in the back,” he said.

Mel got inside the cab, and Merijildo slid into the middle.

Clint climbed into the bed of the pickup and sat down.

Victor drove off and looked at Merijildo, then at his father.

Merijildo looked around the truck in amazement. “What is this strange thing called?” Merijildo asked Mel.

Victor looked concerned with his comment. “Did this old man escape from the mental ward of the hospital?” he asked Mel. “No. This old man is your great-grandfather, Merijildo.

He came from Crazy Hole,” Mel told Victor.

“Oh,” Victor said, as what he said didn’t sink in. Then it hit him, and he slammed on his brakes. In the bed, Clint banged his head on the back of the pickup bed.

Victor looked at the back window. “Who is that guy in the back of the pickup?” Victor asked.

“Clint Bartley. He Marshal of Oak Creek,” Merijildo said.

“Dad. I think we should take him back to the hospital,”

Victor said.

Mel removed his wallet and removed the old picture of Merijildo. He showed it to Victor. “Remember this?” he asked.

Victor looked at the picture, and then he looked at Merijildo. He quickly looked at the picture, and his eyes widened in shock. “Hello, great-great-grandpa. I’m your great, great-grandson,” Victor said, then extended his hand to Merijildo.

Merijildo smiled and shook his hand.

Victor drove away through the parking lot.

Alicia rushed out of the hospital’s front doors. She stopped and looked around the area. Victor’s pickup truck was already gone from the parking lot.

“Where did he go?” she said out loud while she scanned the area, disappointed Clint was gone.

She walked over to her car in the parking lot.

Victor drove his pickup to his ranch. He parked by the garage, and they all went inside.

Later on, Victor, Mel, Merijildo, and Clint ate dinner, talked, and retreated to the back porch, where Merijildo told stories of their ancestors.

The Devil’s Cowboys finished their riding lessons from Rusty.

They drove off in their Harley’s back to the doublewide trailer. They immediately drank beer, and then the stress of horseback riding hit them, and they all fell asleep.

Alicia and Angie ate dinner and watched a movie. Alicia was preoccupied with Clint’s whereabouts.

Angie was preoccupied with John’s locations.

They didn’t pay close attention to the movie while they thought about their men.

Back in 1883, John camped out in the Superstition Mountains. He snacked on beef jerky and snacks he bought at Wal-Mart in 2006. He finished, bedded on his blanket in the dirt, and stared at the star-filled sky. He wanted to kick himself in his butt for screwing up his life with his stupid outlaw obsession.

His eyes welled up while he wondered what he would do for a living in 1883 Dodge City. His duffel bag and backpack were secured to the saddle of his horse. The horse was tied to a nearby tree.

“Maybe I can be a bartender; that should be easy. All they seem to serve is a glass of beer and a shot of whiskey,” he said to himself, then his eyes welled up. “I should have gone to college,” he added.

John heard some critters of the night, and he jumped up, startled. He quickly loaded his pistol with some bullets then rested keeping a watchful eye on the desert.

Chapter 18

It’s Wednesday morning, September 6th, 2006.

Angie made breakfast while Alicia got ready for work.

The Devil’s Cowboys woke up and were soon on the road.

Their tasks were to buy everybody cowboy hats and finish their horseback riding lessons. They would head back to 1883

and live as famous outlaws along with Bart and Charlie.

Back at Mel and Victor’s ranch, Clint and Merijildo waited outside the stable with rifles.

Mel and Victor walked two horses out of the stable. They walked the horses up to Clint and Merijildo.

Merijildo shook Mel's hand. “You come with me to visit?

Preeti, love to meet you,” Merijildo offered.

“No way. I need my modern conveniences,” Victor said.

Mel thought about it. “No. I’m a little too old for that stuff,” Mel said.

“Me understand. Thank you for watching over me. Nice to know family lives on,” Merijildo said, then shook Mel’s hand.

Merijildo walked over to Victor and shook his hand. “It was nice to meet you,” he said, and Victor smiled back.

Clint and Merijildo got in the saddle of their horses. They rode off in the direction of the Superstition Mountains.

“I guess the legend is true. How come you never went in there?” Victor asked Mel while they watched the two ride off toward the mountains.

“I actually thought it was an old stupid Indian superstition,” Mel confessed.

“I don’t know why they called it Crazy Hole when it brings ancestors together,” Victor said and smiled while he placed his arm around Mel. Then Victor looked a little sad. “We lost three horses. They were stolen by those two outlaws I saw on the news,” Victor added.

Mel smiled and reached into his pocket. “Clint gave me these for the horses,” Mel said, showing Victor six mint condition 1881 silver dollars.

Victor smiled as he knew they would be worth some bucks.

They walked back to their ranch house.

Later that day, Clint and Merijildo rode to Crazy Hole.

When they got ten feet from the hole, the horses freaked out and almost fell off.

They quickly hopped out of the saddles of their horses, and Merijildo knew precisely how to correct his situation. He removed his shirt and used it to cover the horse’s eyes. Clint did the same to his horse.

They walked their horses inside Crazy Hole and walked inside. They walked into the dark cave and got to the dead end.

“Legend has it that we have to say a month, day, and year we want to travel to,” said Merijildo.

Clint thought about it for a second. “ We want to travel back to September twentieth, eighteen eighty-three,” he said, making an educated guess.

“Good day,” said Merijildo as his gut feeling made him feel this was the right choice.

They walked their horses into that other, and the blue plasma flash illuminated all around them.

In 1883, John woke up, rolled up his blankets, and secured them to his saddle. He quickly hopped in the saddle of his horse. He rode off towards the direction of Oak Creek.

Also, in 1883, Clint and Merijildo walked their horses out of Crazy Hole. They looked around and knew they were back home.

Clint saw their horses and Bart and Charlie’s horses.

Clint walked over and grabbed the reins of all four horses.

He walked them back over to Merijildo and the other horses.

Clint and Merijildo got in the saddles of their horses, and each held onto the reins of two other horses.

They rode off in a northerly direction toward Oak Creek.

An hour later, John rode into Oak Creek and was extremely nervous. After he got closer to the bank, nobody recognized him, and he felt safe.

While he rode into town, he also saw the train at the station. His plan worked perfectly so far, and he knew in his stomach he would be free and clear of being an old western outlaw.

John rode to the Oak Creek National Bank and stopped his horse at the bank. He quickly got out of the saddle of his horse and tied the reins to the hitching post.

He opened up his duffel bag, removed the bag marked Oak Creek, reached inside the duffel bag, and removed the last note.

“To Whom It May Concern. I’m sorry for robbing your bank. Here’s your money back. Please forgive me. John Mathers, alias the Kissing Bandit. I’ll never rob again as I quit being an outlaw,” John previously wrote in his note.

John dropped the note into the bag. Rushed over and dropped the bag by the bank door.

He rushed back to his horse and removed his duffel bag.

He rushed off down the street and left his horse behind at the bank.

John walked to the train station, where the train engineer greased the train for the next leg of the journey to Phoenix, where he knew he could take a train north and eventually make it to Dodge City.

John walked to the ticket office window where Winston Wallace worked as the ticket clerk and operated the telegraph machine.

“Ticket to Phoenix,” he told Winston and handed him a silver dollar.

Winston gave John his ticket. He glanced at John; it didn’t dawn on him; it was the Kissing Bandit. “Train leaves in ten minutes,” Winston told John.

John walked away with his duffel bag and approached a bench fifteen feet from the ticket office window. He sat down and looked sad that he had to live the rest of his life in the old west.

Winston glanced over at John, and then something felt familiar. He thought for a second, then it dawned on him. “It’s the Kissing Bandit!” Winston thought to himself. Winston quietly walked to the rear of his office and slipped out the back door.

Winston ran down the street.

Clint and Merijildo rode their horses into town. They immediately rode to the livery stables and dropped off the horses.

They walked away from the stables and headed to his office.

Sally walked down the main street and up to the bank. She spotted the bag that John left behind at the door.

She walked over to it and picked it up, opened the bag, and saw the note and coins. Sally removed the note and read what John wrote. Her eyes widened joyfully as she was glad the Kissing Bandit was back in town.

She took the bag into the bank.

Clint and Merijildo walked down the main street and headed to his office with his rifle. Clint started to think about his strategy of how he would catch John.

Winston ran up behind Clint. “Marshal, the Kissing Bandit is sitting at the train station. He’s leaving for Phoenix,” he told Clint, out of breath.

Clint looked determined when he turned around and ran down the street. Merijildo and Winston ran after him.

When he just passed the bank, Rodney and Sally ran out of the bank.

Rodney had the bag John left in his hand. “Marshal.

Marshal. The Kissing Bandit returned all the money he stole,”

Rodney yelled the second he saw Clint.

Clint stopped dead in his tracks, as did Merijildo and Winston. Clint turned around and looked at Rodney in disbelief. “What?” he asked while he rushed over to Rodney.

“The Kissing Bandit returned all the money he stole,”

Rodney said, showing Clint the bag.

Clint opened up the bag and saw the money. Then Rodney showed Clint the note.

“Well, that’s good. But Elmer’s killer needs to be brought before a judge,” Clint said, then ran off down the street towards the train station.

“The Kissing Bandit is waiting at the train station,”

Winston told everybody who gathered around, curious.

Sally’s eyes lit up as she wanted to see John again.

Merijildo, Winston, Rodney, and Sally ran after Clint.

John sat on the bench and waited while other people quietly milled around the area, waiting for the train.

“Train leaves for Phoenix in five minutes,” the train conductor called out while he walked up and down the platform.

People lined up to board the train.

John got up from the bench and stood in line, and he was the last one. He knew this was going to work.

“All aboard for Phoenix,” the train conductor yelled out.

People started to board the train.

John stepped on the train step while some other people rushed over to the train.

“You’re under arrest, Mathers!” Clint yelled out behind John. John’s eyes widened with fear, as he never wanted to hear those words. He turned around and saw Clint with a Winchester aimed behind him.

The people who rushed to the train quickly rushed to a safer spot.

People on the train gawked out their windows and watched John being arrested.

John raised his arms in the air. “I returned all the bank’s monies I stole. Can we call it even and let me go? I promise I’ll never show my face in Oak Creek again,” John begged.

“I don’t think so. There’s this matter of my dead deputy that needs settling,” Clint replied.

John shook in fear and thought he was going to piss his pants. “But I didn’t shoot him. Bart did,” John protested.

“That’s for Judge Peabody to decide. Not me!” Clint said, then cocked his rifle.

Sally looked sad, as she didn’t want John arrested. All she wanted was another kiss from the Kissing Bandit.

“Move it,” Clint said, then motioned his rifle for John to walk away from the train.

John walked away. Clint followed with his rifle aimed at John’s back.

Merijildo, Sally, Winston, and Rodney followed.

People stuck their heads out the train windows and watched while Clint escorted John away.

Clint escorted John through the streets of Oak Creek with his rifle pressed in the middle of John’s back. People around saw this and got curious.

“Clint’s back in town. Whom did he arrest?” a man asked Winston while they walked past him.

“The Kissing Bandit,” Winston replied with a proud smile as he was the one who noticed the outlaw.

More people came out of the building to see the man Clint arrested. Then, word spread quickly around Oak Creek that the Kissing Bandit was arrested.

Clint escorted John to his office. Merijildo opened the door for Clint.

He pressed his rifle harder into John’s back.

John knew what that meant and went inside. Merijildo followed and closed the door.

Sally, Winston, and Rodney waited outside. More people gathered, and talk spread like wildfire that the Kissing Bandit was arrested.

Sally got an idea, and she rushed off down the street.

Clint walked John to one of the empty jail cells inside the Marshal’s office. He slammed the cell door; the second John stepped inside the cell.

John was scared to death while sitting on the bed of his new home.

Clint looked at the desk that once belonged to Elmer, and his eyes welled up. He looked over at Merijildo. “After I talk to Judge Peabody, I’ll get your pay,” Clint told him.

“No need. I saw the family. That worth more than pay,”

Merijildo said.

“You better get back to your boy and your wife, Preeti,”

Clint said.

Merijildo smiled, then left the office.

Clint looked back at John and then walked out of his office.

Clint walked through the streets of Oak Creek and headed into the residential area.

He walked up to a house and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, the door opened, and Judge Peter Peabody appeared.

“Hello, Marshal. I heard you were out chasing after the outlaws that shot poor old Elmer,” he said.

“Yes, sir and I caught one of the scoundrels. I have him locked up, ready for a trial,” Clint replied.

Judge Peabody thought for a second. “I have the trail for Stinky Sampson the day after tomorrow,” he said. Then he looked at Clint’s eyes and knew Elmer was his good friend. “He was a good fishing buddy and knew where the fish were biting.

I guess I can get word over to Stone Valley and postpone Stinky’s trial for three days,” he said. “I’ll put the boy on trial in the morning. We’ll start at nine,” Judge Peabody added.

Clint smiled. “I’ll have him there.”

“Good. I’ll arrange for Horace Arnold, that new young attorney over in Mountain Rock, to represent him. That greenhorn has been here for two months and hasn’t had his first trial,” Judge Peabody said.

Clint smiled and walked away.

Judge Peabody closed his front door.

Clint walked through the dirt streets of Oak Creek and went back to his office.

He went inside and walked up to John’s cell, where he lay on his bed. John saw Clint and stood up.

“You go before Judge Peabody in the morning,” Clint told him. “I’m innocent. I didn’t kill your deputy. Bart did,” John cried out.

“Judge Peabody will decide that tomorrow morning. Your trial starts at nine,” Clint said.

John looked scared since he read about Judge Peabody in the history books. All the outlaws that went before Judge Peabody were found guilty. This was part of the life of an outlaw that he didn’t realize could be a strong possibility. He went back to his bed and sat down, and he knew he was dead meat.

Clint walked over to his desk and sat down. He thought about his recent trip to the future, and he thought about Alicia.

Clint smiled as he really started liking her, and it was too bad they were from different periods. Then he got sad when he thought that, at this exact moment, she didn’t exist.

The door opened, and Sally entered with a plate covered by a cloth napkin.

She closed the door while Clint glanced at her.

“Sally, you didn’t have to bring me dinner,” Clint said. She looked at John’s cell. “I’m sorry, Marshal, it’s for the Kissing Bandit,” she said and smiled at John.

Clint looked over at John. He looked back at Sally and couldn’t figure out why she took a liking to him.

“May I, Marshal? He still needs to eat,” Sally asked.

“Go ahead,” Clint said, motioning for her to go over to John’s cell door.

He watched her walk the plate over to John. She slid it under the gap at the bottom of the cell bars. John picked up the plate and removed the napkin. It was corn, fried chicken, and green beans.

“Thank you,” John said while sitting on his bed and eating a piece of chicken.

“I’m Sally. Do you remember me?” she asked while she watched him eat.

John looked at her. “No,” he replied with a mouth full of chicken.

“You kissed me when you robbed the bank here at Oak Creek,” she said.

John thought for a second while he swallowed. “I remember,” he said, then munched on some more chicken as he was starving. “My name is John Mathers,” he added.

“I know,” she replied with love in her eyes while watching John eat.

Clint exited his desk and walked over to John’s jail cell.

“John, don’t you have a girlfriend back home? I believe her name is Angie. I met her. A charming girl, and I can imagine she’s worried sick about where you are right now,” Clint said.

Sally was disappointed to hear that bit of news.

“Sally, you better leave. I can imagine Ernie is worried.

Plus, you have your wedding next week,” Clint said.

Sally looked guilty. “Goodbye,” she said, then rushed out of the Marshal’s office.

Clint looked at John’s dinner, and his stomach growled.

“I’m going to get some dinner. Stay put,” he told John with a light chuckle.

Winston rushed inside the Marshal’s office. “Marshal Bartley, I just got word that Marshal Jeb Paulson died in his sleep two days ago,” he told Clint while he rushed up to him.

“Died? What a shame. Jeb was a good lawman, but he was getting up in age. I guess a new Marshal for Mountain Rock will have to be sworn in,” Clint said.

Winston’s stomach growled.

“Have you had dinner yet?” Clint asked.

“No,” Winston replied.

“Let’s get some grub,” Clint said.

Clint left the Marshal’s office with Winston.

John waited a few minutes to make sure Clint didn’t return.

He looked at the small window at the rear above the bed, stood up, grabbed the cell bars, and shook them. They didn’t come loose. John got off the bed and walked to the cell bars.

He walked over to the bed and sat down, depressed.

Later that night, Clint returned with a bedroll, a new cartridge belt, and a pistol. He spread on the floor close to John’s jail cell to guard over him. Even though the office had a back room with a bed, Clint preferred to sleep on the floor close to the prisoners.

Clint walked to the potbelly stove and made a pot of coffee. He walked back to his desk, sat down with his boots up on his desk, and waited for the coffee to brew.

John was on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

A little while later, Clint sat at his desk and drank coffee.

The rest of the night was quiet between John and Clint.

An hour passed, and John finally fell asleep.

Clint removed his cartridge belt and laid it on the floor. He bedded down on the floor on his bedroll and quickly fell asleep.

A rooster crowed while the sun rose in Oak Creek. It was Friday, September 21st, 1883.

John woke up in his jail cell bed, and he hoped it was all a bad dream. He sat up and looked around and realized it wasn’t a bad dream.

Clint woke up, then stood up and stretched. He looked at John, who looked ever so sad in his cell.

“I’ll get us some breakfast,” Clint said, then walked to the door.

John rushed over to the cell bars. “Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom. Really bad!” John pleaded, crossing his legs.

Clint turned around and looked at John.

He walked over to his desk and removed some keys from the middle drawer.

He walked over and unlocked John’s cell door.

“If you try to get away, I’ll put a bullet in your back,” Clint threatened.

Clint escorted John to the rear door of the Marshal’s office.

Clint escorted John to an outhouse fifty feet from the rear of the Marshal’s office.