Murder at the Pony Express

Floating down the river at a leisurely pace was a body, lying face down in the water. Curious, Barnett bent down and turned the body over, then straightened. A young male face stared up at him, unblinking, a bullet-hole in his forehead looking eerily like a third eye. "Teaspoon," Barnett called. "I think you'd better come see this."

"What now?" Teaspoon muttered under his breath, making his way over to where Barnett was. Then he saw it. "Lordy Lord," Teaspoon said, shocked. "It's our new rider, Stan Riker."

Meanwhile things were normal at the Sweetwater Pony Express waystation. Rachel Dunne was clearing the breakfast dishes as Louise McCloud and Billy Cody were finishing eating. Cody was, as usual, ravenous, but Lou was picking at her breakfast, unusually silent. She was unresponsive to questions, so Rachel decided to leave it alone.

Suddenly, Lou stood and silently handed Cody were near-full plate "Thanks, Lou!" Cody said, enthusiastically.

"Lou, you've hardly eaten," Rachel protested.

"I ain't hungry. 'Scuse me." She abruptly left the bunkhouse.

"She hasn't had a fight with Kid, has she?" Rachel asked Cody, puzzled.

Cody shook his head. "She'd tell you if she had."

"That's what I thought. Do you know what's wrong?"

Cody didn't answer but something in his manner told Rachel that he did indeed know. "Billy," she pressed.

Cody sighed. "Stan found out that she's a girl."

"Well, we figured he would eventually."

"Yeah, but he said that he was gonna tell the company. He's on his way to St. Joe now."

"Oh," They were interrupted by Teaspoon entering the bunkhouse. "Teaspoon, what's wrong?"

He looked around and said: "Where are the rest of the riders?"

Cody shrugged. "Around. You want me to get them?"

"Please."

"What's this about, Teaspoon?" Rachel asked when Cody left.

"Barnett found Stanley Riker's body in the Pawnee River this mornin'."

"What?"

"He was murdered. One shot, straight to the head. He was beaten, too."

"Oh." Rachel busied herself clearing the table.

"You know somethin' Rachel?"

"No," Rachel said, too quickly. She tried to leave it at that, but relented under Teaspoon's piercing gaze. "Lou was a bit upset this mornin'. Cody said that Stan found out that she's a girl and was gonna tell Russell, Majors, and Waddell."

"Damn," Teaspoon muttered. "This is not good."

"You don't think any of them would murder him for that, do you?" Teaspoon didn't respond. "Do you?" Rachel insisted.

"I don't know, Rachel. I just don't know. The boys would do anything to protect her."

"But murder?"

Six of the remaining seven riders stationed there assembled in the bunkhouse—all but Ike McSwain who was out on a run. They were quite, serious, sensing that Teaspoon was there not as their friend, but as the town marshal. They watched as he paced the room.

"What's this about, Teaspoon?" Noah asked.

"Barnett found Stan Riker's body in the Pawnee River this mornin'," Teaspoon announced for the second time that day. "He was murdered."

"What?!" The riders exclaimed. "How?"

"One shot, straight to the head. He'd been beaten, too. I need to know what you lot know about it."

"You don't think any of us had anything to do with it?" Kid asked.

"Frankly, I don't know."

"What?!"

"I know Stan was gonna tell the company about Lou." Silence followed the statement. "Were any of you plannin' on tellin' me?" More silence.

"We were gonna tell you this mornin' but you weren't at breakfast." Lou finally responded.

Teaspoon sighed. "Okay. I know that Stan was hard to get on with…”

Jimmy snorted. "To say the least."

Teaspoon ignored him. "So why don't you tell me what happened." He turned to Buck Cross. "Why don't you tell me what happened between you and Stan."

Buck shrugged. "Not much to tell, really. He just had a real bad attitude." He settled in to tell his story.

Buck's story started four days earlier, when Stanley Riker came to the station. At first he seemed nice, but it was soon revealed that he had a real attitude toward anyone who wasn't white. Buck was half-Kiowa.

Stan expressed indignation at being expected to work with a Indian—a "half-breed" at that, but grudgingly he did so. Albeit, not without problems.

At first it was just sarcastic taunts, Stan saying things like: "Where's your feathers, Indian," or "Better watch your scalps around this one, boys." The withering looks he received from the others didn't stop him.

Then the practical jokes started. Petty little things like feathers in his bed, his gun hidden and crudely-made arrows left in its place. Stan was always nearby when Buck discovered these; always with a smirk on his face. By this point, Buck's volatile temper was rising to boiling point, but he kept it in check. Until things came to a head.

Stan played a real nasty joke on Buck. Petty but nasty. He cut the cinch on Buck's saddle. Normally if a saddle had a broken cinch the saddle would slip as soon as the rider put his foot in the stirrup to swing up. However, that day, Buck mounted his chestnut gelding without putting his foot in the stirrup, as he was wont to do. So he didn't fall straight away. It wasn't until he was making the exchange with another express rider that he fell. Lou, and Ike ran to see how Buck was, while Stan stood by and laughed hysterically.

Immediately knowing who was behind that stunt, Buck got up and rushed Stan with fists flying. Stan retaliated and it soon developed into a full-blown fight, which Lou and Ike broke up (to prevent Buck from being fired). It was at this point that Stan found out that Lou was a girl.

"He made me mad, alright," Buck finished up. "But that doesn't mean I'd murder him."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Teaspoon asked.

"Right after that when I left on my run. I got back this mornin' when Ike left."

"Mmmm," Teaspoon looked around at his riders. Lou opened her mouth to say something, but he held up his hand. "I'll get to you, later. I want to hear from Noah, first.?"

"What do you want to know?" Noah asked, defensively.

"I know you had your run-ins with Stan. What happened?"

Noah shrugged. "Ain't much to tell."

Noah Dixon's story was much the same as Buck's. Stan's attitude certainly extended toward the Negro, but for a different reason. Stan was from the state of Mississippi, which had seceded from the Union; and he made it clear that he stood with the South.

This attitude alienated Stan from the riders, but his belief that all Negro were only good for slavery further alienated Noah.

Stan acted on this belief, treating Noah like a slave, explanations that Noah had been born free fell on deaf ears. As Noah had only just recently returned from Missouri, where he had been held as a slave; Stan's attitude was the last straw.

Sick of Stan's taunts and condescending commands, Noah finally lashed back, and told Stan what he thought. Stan grabbed Noah's whip and said: "I should give this nigger a good whippin'!"

At that point in the narrative, Teaspoon rolled his eyes. He could imagine what happened next. "And?"

"Grabbed my whip back and told him 'Go back and fight for the South'. He said: 'Not until I take you back where you belong'." Noah shifted uncomfortably.

"What'd you do?" Silence met the question.

"He was about to lay into Stan," Kid finally spoke up. "I told him it ain't worth it."

"Then what?"

"I went for a ride. Didn't come back until after supper."

"Get back before or after Stan left?"

"After," Noah mumbled.

"You meet Stan on the way?"

"No! What are you sayin, Teaspoon?"

"I ain't accusin' you of nothin'..."

"Sure sounds like it..."

Teaspoon held up his hand again, silencing them. "I just want to know what happened. Any law man would." Teaspoon was worried about Noah's admission. Normally he wouldn't entertain the possibility that one of them could be a murderer, but he knew that Noah was as volatile as Buck, and after what he went through in Missouri…

Teaspoon shook his head and turned to Jimmy. "What about you, son?"

"What about me?" Jimmy returned.

"I assume you had your problems with Stan."

"Who didn't?"

"Mind tellin' me about them?"

"What's to tell? He tried callin' me out, I refused to draw, and he backed down."

"Now, that ain't like you."

Jimmy shrugged. "He just wanted to test 'Wild Bill Hickok'. I didn't want to get into trouble."

Teaspoon gave him a disbelieving look. "He never said nothin' about your father?"

"What if he did?" Jimmy shot back "That doesn't mean nothin'! I never saw him after he rode outta here."

Teaspoon stared at Jimmy for a long moment, sensing there was more; but knowing he wouldn't say anything else, he turned to Cody. "What about you?"

"We never got into any fights if that's what you mean. I saw Stan on my way back from Sweetwater last night, ridin' like a bat outta Hell. I asked him where he was goin', he said that he was ridin' to St. Joe and we were all gonna be in trouble. I didn't find out what he meant 'til I got back here.

"When Lou heard that Stan was really on his way to St. Joe, she took off. Said she was gonna try and change his mind."

"She what!?" Teaspoon barked.

"Cody!" Lou and Kid yelled in unison

Teaspoon turned to the female rider. "What's the story, young lady?"

Lou sighed. "Buck already told you how Stan found out I was a girl. But he didn't say what happened later."

Lou was really nervous when Stan Riker found out her secret. He'd only been there a few days, and he didn't seem the type to keep a secret like that. Especially when it involved a deception. Not for the first time, Lou wondered if she were about to be fired.

Stan was unusually silent after his chance discovery. He immediately forgot about his prank and the fight with Buck and just walked away. Apprehensive, Lou followed him into the barn where she found him currycombing his Arabian stallion, Pegasus.

"Are you gonna tell?" She finally asked after an awkward silence.

Stan thought for a moment. "Maybe."

Lou's heart sank. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. I might tell."

"That ain't no answer. Either you'll tell or you won't."

"Well, you see, that depends on you."

"On me?" Puzzled, Lou looked into Stan's amber-coloured eyes.

"Yeah. I can be persuaded to keep quiet."

"How?" Lou asked, suspiciously.

"Simple," Stan put the currycomb down, raked his fingers through his dark blond hair, and approached her. "Just do me some favours."

Lou backed away, and into the wall. "What type of favours?" She asked, although she had a sneaking suspicion she knew.

"Oh I think you know." Now that he had her backed against the wall, Stan took he opportunity to lean down and kiss her.

The moment their lips met, Lou punched him in the stomach. "Forget it."

Wheezing, Stan nevertheless reached out and grabbed her as she attempted to pass. "If you don't agree, I'll tell."

"I don't care."

"I'll make sure you're fired."

"I don't care," she repeated.

"You should, because you won't be the only one fired. Everyone else will be too."

"What?"

"How do you think the company would feel about Teaspoon keepin' you on here after knowin you're a girl? They'll all be fired, 'cause they all knew. You want to risk that?" Without waiting for an answer, Stan leaned down to kiss her again.

"Get away from her, Stan." A cold voice said from the doorway.

Stan looked over at the Kid, standing there, gun drawn, having heard everything. "Am I supposed to believe you'll shoot me over her?"

"Believe what you want.” Kid cocked the gun. Lou wrenched her arm out of Stan's grip and rushed over to Kid. Stan decided that Kid was serious and backed off. It was time for supper, anyway.

"What happened after supper?" Teaspoon asked. Louise had paused in her narrative, her voice breaking. Kid reached over and squeezed her hand, and she gave him a grateful smile.

"After supper, Jimmy, Ike, and me tried to talk him out of tellin' on Lou." Kid went on.

Lou was sitting on her bunk, resting her chin on her knees. Kid glanced up at her from time to time, knowing what was wrong. Jimmy and Ike knew too, they were the only other riders present. Except Stan Riker, of course.

Stan was sitting at the table writing a letter which he said was to Alexander Majors concerning Lou and the state of the Sweetwater waystation as he saw it. Judging from what he muttered as he was writing, the other riders could tell he wasn't painting a particularly flattering picture. Jimmy and Kid exchanged nervous glances. This did not bode well.

When he finished, Stan put the quill down with a flourish. His amber eyes were dancing with triumph as he handed the letter to Lou to read. "I warned you I would tell." Lou scanned the letter; parts were exaggerated, other parts were blatantly untrue. In anger, Lou screwed up the letter and threw it across the room.

"What are you doin?" Stan protested.

"You can't do this."

"I have a right to my opinion."

After reading the letter, Jimmy, Kid, and Ike agreed with Lou. They tried to reason with Stan, explaining Lou's circumstances, her reasons for what she was doing, but Stan refused to listen. In his mind, women had certain roles in life, and riding for the Pony Express wasn't one of them—even if her reasons were sound.

Tired of being reasoned with, Stan began to rant about all the riders in general. They knew that he was just angry and didn't mean what he said, but that didn't stop the sting of his words. In desperation, and partly to shut him up, Lou finally exploded. "What was I supposed to do, become a saloon girl or work in a cathouse?"

There was a moment of silence as Lou's outburst shocked the male riders. Then Stan turned to her with a disdainful look on his face. He told her that she was no better than a whore, working and living there with the riders. With an enraged yell, Kid rushed at Stan and started pummelling him. Stan retaliated, and a full-blown fight ensued, one which Jimmy and Ike were reluctant to stop. The two riders traded blows, until Stan finally tripped over the edge of a bunk (aided considerably by Kid's push).

Stan scrambled to his feet, grabbed his gunbelt, jacket and bedroll, and headed out the door, pausing only to say that he personally was going to tell Russell, Majors and Waddell what type of a "crazy outfit" Teaspoon Hunter was running here.

"And that's it?" Teaspoon asked when Kid stopped talking. Kid nodded. "What about Lou goin' after Stan?"

Lou took a deep breath. "Well after he left, Ike thought maybe Stan was just angry and when he calmed down, he'd change his mind."

"Then Cody came back and said that Stan was on his way to St. Joe." Teaspoon put in.

"Yeah, I thought that if I talked to him, he may change his mind. It was worth a shot."

"What'd Stan say?"

"I didn't catch up with him. Lightnin' picked up a stone, and I had to slow down."

"By that time I caught up with her." Kid added.

"You followed her out?" Things were looking more suspicious to Teaspoon.

Kid shrugged. "I didn't want her facing her alone."

"And neither of you saw him?" The couple shook their heads. Teaspoon sighed.

"What now, Teaspoon?" Jimmy asked.

"I don't know."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I don't know. Kid and Lou have a pretty compellin' reason for murder, and they had the opportunity. So did Noah."

"You sayin' we're lyin'?" Lou asked hotly.

"I ain't sayin' that. I'm just puttin' two and two together."

"I can't believe you'd even think it was one of us." Cody shook his head.

"I didn't know where else to start. He hadn't been here long. I only wanted to know when you last saw…”

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Noah got up and answered it. A moment later, Noah turned to the marshal. "Teaspoon, there's a man out here lookin' for Stan. Says he's his brother."

Brother? Stan never mentioned no brother. The riders were just as confused about this "brother" as Teaspoon was "What's his name?"

"David Riker."

"Show him in."

Noah opened the door and a tall, light-haired man walked in. His eyes were a clear blue, and he carried an air of arrogance that was similar to Stan's.

"You the marshal?" David asked.

"That's right."

“The deputy in town said you knew my brother."

"Yeah, I have some bad news for you." Teaspoon shifted uncomfortably. "Your brother, Stan, was found dead this mornin'."

"Dead? How?"

"Shot, he was murdered."

David Riker sat quickly, bewildered. "Dead. I hope you're lookin' for whoever's responsible."

"I am, but I've hit a dead end. Maybe you can help me. Did Stan have any enemies?"

David shook his head. "None. He was a good kid, never got into trouble. He didn't deserve to die like that, to get shot in the head, lookin' like he's got a third eye."

The last part was incoherent, nonetheless, Teaspoon froze. "Say again?"

David looked confused. "He didn't deserve to die."

"No, the part about gettin' shot."

"In the head."

"How'd you know he was shot in the head? I don't recall tellin' you that."

"I…I…” David stammered, flustered. Cody came up behind him and drew his gun. He looked at it, then tossed it to Teaspoon.

"It's Stan's gun. See? It's got his initials. Stan never mentioned a brother, either. In fact, he told me he didn't have one."

"Would you mind tellin' me how you got Stan's gun?" Teaspoon held up the gun, which had the initials "S.R." engraved on the butt. "What do you know about Stan Riker's murder?"

"Who says I know anything?" David countered. "Just 'cause I found the gun, this mornin'…”

"Where'd you find it?"

Before David could answer, Ike burst into the bunkhouse. "What're you doin' here, Ike, I thought you had a run." Buck said.

<<I have an urgent message for Teaspoon.>> Ike signed, pulling a letter from his pocket. <<It's from the Army.>>

"Why would the Army send you a message, Teaspoon?" Kid wondered.

"I don't know," Teaspoon scanned the letter, then straightened and glared at David. "It says here that I should be on the lookout for a tall, blond man who is killin' southern riders for fear they'd betray the Union."

They all looked at David, who fit the description. "Stan was from Mississippi," Noah said.

"And Mississippi just seceded. Did you kill Stan Riker… David Reed?"

David jumped at the sound of his real name. "Riders from the South are a threat to the security of his country. I was only doin' what needed to be done," he defended himself.

Teaspoon sighed. "Jimmy, help me get him to town." They led David out, regardless of his protests.

"Do you really think Teaspoon thought it was one of us?" Lou asked after they'd gone.

"It's hard to imagine, I know. But I'm sure it looked bad when he heard what Stan was gonna do. Sometimes he's just gotta do his job."

"Like Sam when Jimmy was accused of killin' Randall Downs."

"Yeah."

That gave them something to think about.