Dead-Eye Darling

by totallynotabrony

Chapter 10

When the sheriff and his men approached Frank about a murder, he didn’t immediately think they suspected him. The handcuffs coming out changed his opinion.

He wanted to protest, or, barring that, to fight. Against several lawmen, however, that would be a terrible idea. Still, Frank’s sense of injustice was on high alert, as he was already taken into custody before they checked his room, questioned him, or even asked his name.

At least they went through the formalities of doing so afterwards. Dragging him down the hallway, the deputies followed the sheriff to Frank’s room. He opened the door and stopped short, apparently not actually expecting to find evidence of a crime. Or, from the grim look he gave Frank, not nearly so much evidence.

“It looks like that wraps it up. Put him away,” ordered the sheriff.

Frank walked willingly out of the hotel and towards the jail, just because he didn’t fancy being dragged. He felt he should ask, “Who am I accused of murdering?”

“Go to Hell,” muttered one of the deputies.

“No, really,” Frank insisted. “This is all news to me.”

That still didn’t get him any answers. His concern growing, Frank was led into the jail. The men had already taken his gun, but now they stripped him of gunbelt, hat, coat, and boots. That wasn’t a good sign. They meant to keep him for a while.

The sheriff closed the iron cell door and locked it. “Your trial’s in the morning.”

“Now hold on,” Frank protested. “You can’t do something like that so fast.”

“Why not?” the sheriff asked. “Do you know the law?”

Frank didn’t, even though he knew something wasn’t right. That wasn’t enough for an argument, however.

The sheriff left the room, putting out the lamp and plunging Frank into darkness.

In the darkness, outside of town, sweat beaded Rarity’s flanks as she galloped hard across the desert. Her saddle was cinched loosely, but she hadn’t had time to properly affix it while beating her hasty departure. She hadn’t known who the intruders to the hotel room were, but felt that odds favored them being Teal Jack’s men. Going out the window was undignified, but there simply hadn’t been time to do anything else.

Rarity knew she would need to go back into town, however. The teleporting gem wouldn’t find itself and Roswell was apparently the closest to the gang she’d been so far. This was an opportunity that she couldn't afford to miss. Rarity frowned. But how would she go about locating the gang?

It might be a good idea to get a disguise - a different one. As much as Rarity hated to admit it, this was a situation where she should not look her best.

Rarity slowed to a trot, cooling down. She was well outside town by now. Despite the break in to the hotel room, it seemed that she hadn’t been pursued. Glancing up, she checked the sky. It had gone dark and a few stars were appearing, but the moon was not yet up. Rarity frowned at that, but decided it must be an effect of the strange ecosystem.

Slowing to a stop, Rarity took a deep breath. She had to admit, having Frank’s expertise would be beneficial right about now. Regardless of how much his personality grated on her, he at least always seemed to know what to do.

Sighing, Rarity turned back towards the lights of town and sat down to think. Did she really need him? All she had to do was get the diamond back. But how would she do that? Rarity tried to form some sort of plan, mentally reviewing her advantages over the criminals.

She had a little surprise on her side, although if she didn’t find a different hat that might not last. She could run faster than a man, and as much as she was loathe to carry loads she was certainly stronger. Plus the ability to use magic, that was a big advantage. With it, she could probably handle weapons better than most people. Adding her intelligence to the mix, and the situation really didn’t look that grim.

Rarity smiled. Well, she wasn’t home yet, but now she was feeling better about making it happen. All she had to do was go back to town and get started.

She got up and stretched. Putting on a confident smile and angling her hat jauntily, she trotted back towards town.

The night passed rather slowly from the inside of a cell. Frank did manage to sleep, but the hanging feeling of being falsely accused of murder kept him uneasy. When the morning came, he was roused by a deputy and handcuffed. Without much explanation, Frank was taken away from the jail to the town courthouse.

To Frank’s surprise, there was already a judge, jury, and some curious spectators present in the court room. The sheriff was waiting as he was brought in.

“Is all this for me?” Frank asked, looking around.

“Murder trials generally get attention,” the judge answered, his voice carrying across the room.

“This is the trial?” Frank sputtered. “So soon? Don’t I get an opportunity for a hearing to show that there is no need?”

“We have all the required evidence,” the sheriff informed him. “Your hotel room was sufficient for that.”

“But I wasn’t there when that happened,” Frank argued.

“Do you have a witness to corroborate your story?” the judge asked.

Frank almost said “my pony,” but decided that wouldn’t go over well. Instead he replied, “The waitress at the saloon. I was there just before going back to the hotel.”

“We know,” the sheriff replied acidly. “We also know what you did to her after that.”

And the trial went downhill from there. Protesting his innocence did little good, not that Frank was ever put on the stand to actually testify. The evidence, such as it was, seemed compelling to the jury. From what Frank gathered from listening to it, apparently the waitress had been murdered and her body dumped. Based on an anonymous tip and the blood found in Frank’s room, that had been more than enough to arrest him.

It was clever, really. If Teal Jack had actually ordered the woman’s death or merely taken advantage of an existing crime, it certainly got Frank off his back. It was difficult to say whether he knew that Rarity was also after him.

Frank thought about her while the lawyers deliberated. Where had she gone? He couldn’t say for sure that she was all right, but if the blood in the hotel room was actually hers, he figured someone would have followed any trail that led away from the broken window.

But there was no way he could count on her now. Not only wouldn’t she have any idea how, but really, what could she do? How was a unicorn supposed to get him off the hook for a murder trial?

Frank almost missed the banging of the gavel. “Guilty.”

“What?” Frank looked up.

“You’ve just been convicted,” Frank’s lawyer advised, the first time he’d spoken to Frank.

“Already?” Frank demanded. “The trial can’t be over yet!”

“It sure is,” the sheriff advised.

“And now the sentencing,” the judge said. “The accused will be hung by the neck until dead. Punishment will be carried out today at five o’clock.”

“So late?” the sheriff asked. “Why not sooner?”

“Why not later?” Frank broke in. “What if more evidence comes to light?”

“Swift trial, swift sentence,” the judge replied. He turned to the sheriff to answer his question, “But late enough that everyone can attend.”

His gavel came down. “Dismissed.”

Frank was unceremoniously hauled back across the street and thrown in a cell. Before the deputy left, Frank asked, “What time is it?”

“Almost nine,” the man replied. “You’ve got about eight hours left.”

And with that depressing piece of news, Frank was left alone. He stood for a moment before walking to the small, barred window. The morning sun was rising into the sky.

Across town, Rarity glanced at the sky to check the sun. Unlike Celestia’s star, it was only a rough gauge of time. Still, she was disappointed that she’d been unable to make any progress after spending all night on the problem.

A nap during the night had cut into her time, but really, who could expect her to do anything without a bit of beauty rest? Although, she had to admit, sleeping in a pile of loose straw by the railroad station barely counted.

It would have to do, however. Especially since a good portion of the day passed before Rarity got anywhere in her search. She occasionally nibbled anything green she found on the street, but the sparse vegetation wasn’t enough to sustain her comfortably all day.

By the afternoon, she was hungry, tired, and frustrated. But all that melted away when she caught a glimpse of the man named Teal Jack Smith.

He was down the street and standing with a few other men and their horses. Teal Jack was bareheaded, apparently not yet having found a replacement for his distinctive hat.

Speaking of that, Rarity hid herself around the corner of a building to keep herself from being seen. Carefully spying, Rarity saw the group mount up and ride out into the desert.

Rarity’s mouth formed into a thin line. She came out from hiding and cantered to the edge of town. She looked around, not seeing anyone nearby. Despite searching all day, she hadn’t managed to find Frank. Well, that was his misfortune. She had her goal in front of her and she was going for it.

Rarity checked her guns and headed out after the gang.

Author's Note:

So sorry for the delay on this chapter. I got busy with other stuff while the editors, Akumokagetsu and maskedferret waited impatiently.

Comments

[TinyPlaidNinjas]

Perhaps a few perspective transitions could be chucked in?
Like a "******************" whenever you swap characters or something?

[totallynotabrony]

3353643 Yeah, maybe it wasn't obvious enough. Still, four scenes in 1600 words is a bit much and I was trying my best to hide it.

[TinyPlaidNinjas]

Why? Who cares how many scenes there are? There's no sort of criteria for words per scene or whatever, so I think it would make more sense to maximise readability.

[Christs Disciple]

They were certainly gettin' it done with the trial and execution.

[Lag Incarnate]

Oh, we're getting closer to the beginning. I'm going to guess two more chapters, three with lots of detail.

[Gyro Pony]

I had no problem with the scene changes. And the character perspective shifts were fine.

This is currently my favourite story on FimFiction.
You've got a rocket of a story here mate!! Write like the wind, Bullseye!!

Wait, was it RIDE like the wind...? Maybe it's the wrong West story altogether.... Oh well ;-)

[Fireheart 1945]

That judge was a worthless piece of shit, and the same goes for the sheriff. They had no evidence that he was in the room when the murder was committed, and they refused to listen to anything that countered their story.

[Razalon The Lizardman]

3443286 Historical accuracy, that was.