Bullet Catch Showdown

  Bullet Catch Showdown

  I. J. Parnham

  Published by Culbin Press, 2022.

  Names, characters and incidents in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  First published in 2014 by Robert Hale Limited

  Copyright © 2014, 2022 by I. J. Parnham

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

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  Further Reading: Beyond Redemption

  Also By I. J. Parnham

  Chapter One

  “It’s a trick,” Adam Clements said.

  “Of course it is,” Lucy said with an excited giggle. “That’s why it’s called a magic show.”

  Adam uttered an exasperated sigh. Then he settled down in his chair to try to work out how Malachi Muldoon, the world’s most dangerous practitioner of the arcane arts, would next deceive his gullible audience.

  He’d already poured scorn on Malachi’s first trick in which he’d opened a safe that had been empty only to find it was now full of gold and jewels. Malachi had been so shocked by the unexpected appearance he’d slammed the door shut and when he’d reopened it a moment later, his female assistant Florence was inside dressed in a gaudy and barely decent costume.

  The audience applauded, but Adam noted that they found her a more interesting sight than the treasure, so they didn’t watch the safe closely. So he hadn’t been impressed when Malachi moved the safe aside revealing a suspicious square shape on the stage that suggested a trapdoor.

  That observation hadn’t impressed Lucy, and Adam had been even less impressed with the card trick. Malachi had used a knife to spear one of the playing cards Florence had held up, and this card turned out to be the same card that earlier a member of the audience had selected.

  Adam reckoned Malachi had two packs of cards and someone had told him which card had been chosen. Lucy hadn’t taken that revelation well either and already he was wishing that for his first night in a new town he’d sought out a saloon girl who hadn’t wanted to go to the show.

  “Now for your edification and delight,” Malachi announced from the front of the stage while pointing along the first row of the excited audience, “I will perform the most dangerous act you’ll ever witness in your entire lives.”

  The audience cheered in anticipation, but an inebriated man on the front row stood up and gestured at the stage.

  “If you want real danger, spend a Saturday night in Bear Creek,” he shouted while struggling to remain upright.

  Appreciative laughter rang out while Malachi rubbed his jaw pensively.

  “Eight legendary performers have died demonstrating the death-defying, the breathtaking, the notorious bullet catch.”

  The man shrugged. “Eight deaths? That still sounds like a typical Saturday night in Bear Creek!”

  The audience roared with laughter, forcing Malachi to parade in a circle while he waited for order to return.

  “In that case, perhaps you’d like to come up here and help me with my act,” he said when the noise had subsided. “You can carry out the death-defying part.”

  Laughter rang out along with catcalls encouraging the heckler to go up on stage, making Adam nod knowingly. He leaned toward Lucy.

  “That man’s working with Malachi,” he said. “He’s part of the act.”

  “No he’s not,” Lucy snapped. “Stop spoiling it for me.”

  Adam sat back waiting to be proved right, but to his disappointment, and Lucy’s glee, the heckler bowed acknowledging he’d been bettered and sat back down. After the merriment of the lively exchange, everyone sat quietly as Malachi set up his next act.

  Florence dragged a hoop on a pole on to the stage. Then she pushed the pole around to display the glass in the hoop and the knotted rope that surrounded the glass like a hangman’s noose. Malachi paced out exact measurements across the stage until he found two spots at opposite ends of the stage that he deemed to be suitable and which he marked with crosses.

  Then he did the same precise pacing out to position the hoop in the center of the stage between the two marks. He didn’t explain why the positioning was important, but his act had enraptured everyone and the audience waited quietly for him to be ready.

  Finally, Florence brought out a shining Peacemaker on a silver tray after which Malachi beckoned for a member of the audience to come up and examine the gun. Adam was leaning over to Lucy to make the point that this person would be the heckler when, to a round of applause, Sheriff Washington clambered up on to the stage.

  His participation had clearly been arranged beforehand as he and Malachi chatted amiably. Then Malachi drew him forward to face the audience.

  “Can you confirm this is your Peacemaker?” Malachi asked, as Florence held up the tray.

  “It sure is, and it’s the cleanest it’s ever been,” Washington said, addressing the audience.

  The heckler shouted something, but his speech was slurred and Adam couldn’t hear what he said. This time his interjection wasn’t received as enthusiastically as before and the audience beckoned him to be quiet.

  “Can you confirm your gun is loaded?”

  Florence opened the cylinder letting Washington examine the chambers.

  “I sure can.”

  “Finally, will you accept my solemn statement that I make here before all these good people that if my death-defying act goes awry and I am killed here tonight on this very stage, no crime will have been committed?”

  “I will,” Washington said with a somber tone, after which Florence led him to the back of the stage to stand behind the hoop.

  Malachi lowered his head and took deep breaths before he paced to his mark at the side of the stage. When he was in position, a second man emerged from the back of the stage and stood on the other mark so that he faced Malachi through the glass hoop.

  This man wore a long, black cloak and below his wide hat a mask covered his face so only his eyes were visible through the two holes in the mask. Florence brought over the tray and with due gravity the masked man took the Peacemaker before she scurried back to join Washington.

  She rummaged behind her and located a brand, which she lit, although her hand shook and she required several attempts. When her nervous fumbling made several people laugh, Malachi raised a hand calling for quiet.

  “As I don’t want Sheriff Washington to complete his promise, I need silence,” he said. He coughed and lowered his tone. “In case I don’t defy death, my killer is wearing a mask to ensure his identity will never become known.”

  In a room that had become so silent Adam could hear his own heartbeat, the masked man raised the gun while Malachi settled his stance and adopted a pose with his head jutting forward and his arms thrust backward. Florence put the brand to the hoop and the rope must have been soaked in oil as it burst into flame.

  Adam was close to the stage and he had to turn his
head from side to side to watch both the masked man and Malachi. He also watched Florence, Sheriff Washington and the burning hoop, feeling unsure about who or what was important so he could work out how the trick was performed.

  He was noting that Florence was tapping a finger against the plate on which the gun had rested earlier, when the masked man fired. The glass cracked and fell from the hoop. The sudden sounds made Adam jump in his seat, not that he needed to be embarrassed as everyone else leaped to their feet.

  He had to crane his neck to find out what had happened as the mass of people before him were also craning their necks. When he realized that Malachi had fallen over and he was lying motionless on his side, he wished he didn’t know.

  “What’s happening?” Lucy asked, jumping on the spot as she failed to see over the heads before her.

  “You don’t want to see. . . .” Adam trailed off when Malachi twitched and got to his knees.

  Applause erupted as Malachi raised a hand to confirm he was fine. Then Florence walked over to him gingerly, taking care to avoid the glass the masked man’s bullet had shattered. She held out the plate and, after shaking his head vigorously as if shrugging off a blow, Malachi turned to the audience and smiled.

  In the gap between his upper and lower teeth, there was clearly an object. Then he jerked his head forward and spat out a bullet on to the plate. As cheering rose up from every corner of the room, Washington came over to inspect the slug.

  His incredulous expression told the audience everything they needed to know. Malachi had caught the bullet in his teeth.

  “So, how did he do that?” Lucy said, as the audience sat down.

  “It’s a trick,” Adam said. He ignored her aggrieved expression and blurted out his best guess. “Malachi had already put a bullet in his mouth and when the flames around the hoop shattered the glass, the masked man fired over Malachi’s head.”

  “I don’t think so.” She pouted. “I think he caught the bullet with his teeth.”

  She sneered at him, and although admitting he’d been impressed would help him enjoy the rest of the evening, he couldn’t bring himself to agree.

  “Now after my brush with seemingly certain death,” Malachi announced to his enthralled audience before Adam could reply, “I’ll end my performance here tonight by turning my attention on to you, my good friends. I intend to make one of you disappear. Do I have a volunteer?”

  “Make him disappear,” a man shouted on the front row while pointing at the drunken heckler.

  To a round of growing support, the heckler stood up, pleasing Adam as he’d identified him earlier as being in Malachi’s employ. He tapped Lucy’s arm, but she batted him away.

  With everyone shouting encouragement, the heckler turned to the stage. Unfortunately, he was so inebriated he stumbled into another man, knocking him over. Then he tripped over another man’s legs and went sprawling over several people.

  While he extricated himself, raucous laughter rang out relieving the tension of the last few minutes. Then, when he gained his feet, he walked by the steps leading up to the stage and he had to be directed back to them where he took several attempts to work out how to climb up.

  By the time the heckler reached the stage Malachi was glowering and, when Florence directed him to his position, he lunged for her. She avoided his grasping hands with a deft wiggle, but the movement unbalanced him and he fell forward like a toppled tree on to the stage.

  Then he rolled off it and crashed into a man who had been working his way back to his seat. People crowded in to check they were unharmed and others stood up asking to volunteer in his place.

  Malachi stood over the spot where the heckler had fallen, shaking his head. Adam was still working out how this turn of events fitted into his theory when Lucy dragged him to his feet.

  “Make him disappear,” Lucy screeched, her voice cutting through the hubbub. “Then I won’t have to listen to any more of his prattle.”

  Her loud comment drew attention to Adam and people started shouting for Malachi to pick him. For his part, Malachi was still interested in the heckler, who was tussling with the man who had broken his fall, until the audience’s reaction made him turn to Adam followed by several other people who had been picked out.

  Malachi raised a hand and pointed a finger straight up, holding the pose until he had quiet. Then he lowered the hand and the finger pointed at Adam.

  “I’ll make him disappear,” he said, to a round of applause. “Later, if his delightful escort consents, I’ll bring him back.”

  Lucy squealed and waved as she enjoyed the attention. With her ignoring him, Adam made his way to the stage. At the steps, he waited while the sheriff and his deputy instilled calm by dragging the heckler away. Then, on the stage, he struggled to face a large number of people who were facing him, so he turned to Malachi.

  “I’m Adam Clements,” he said, although he hadn’t been asked. “That’s Lucy . . . I don’t know her second name.”

  He knew he was babbling, but his comment raised a laugh. When several men shouted out Lucy’s full name along with how much she charged, Malachi beckoned Florence to approach.

  The next few minutes passed in a blur. Adam tried to concentrate on everything that happened, but standing on stage made him feel self-conscious and he let Florence lead him around meekly.

  After much parading around the stage, he found himself standing in the black box that had been fashioned to resemble a safe and from which Florence had magically appeared earlier. Malachi reached in and shook his hand while favoring him with a wink.

  Then he slammed the door shut, leaving Adam bracing himself for whatever happened next. When all he heard was Malachi explaining how he was the only man who knew the mystical art of making men disappear and then reappear, he turned around.

  He found nothing untoward so he felt the door, which made him realize his hand was cold. He opened his hand and silver flashed before dropping from view. Bemused, he dropped to his knees to find a silver dollar spinning to a halt on the base.

  When he cast his mind back, he now reckoned he’d felt something cold on his palm when Malachi had shaken his hand. He was still wondering why Malachi had given him money when a small door at the back he hadn’t noticed before dropped open and Florence appeared.

  She put a finger to her lips. Then she gestured, encouraging him to crawl away.

  “You want me to follow you?” he said.

  “Of course I do,” she said with a wink that was slower and more intriguing than Malachi’s. “How else is he going to make you disappear?”

  “I don’t know,” Adam said.

  “In that case, just remember this.” She took his hand and tugged. “It’s a trick.”

  Chapter Two

  “So how did Malachi catch the bullet?” Deputy Hayward Knight asked when Sheriff Washington had settled down in his chair in the law office.

  “We’ve been dealing with this one,” Washington said, signifying Derrick Fox, the drunken heckler Hayward had dumped on a chair. “So I’ve not been thinking about Malachi Muldoon.”

  Hayward laughed at Washington’s evasive answer and moved over to the almost comatose prisoner.

  “Do you want me to lock him in a cell?”

  “No. Let him sit there until he wakes up. Then he can crawl back into the gutter.”

  “You’re generous tonight. You must have enjoyed Malachi’s show.”

  Washington shrugged, again passing up the opportunity to talk about what had happened on stage.

  “Derrick was only boisterous, so we can’t waste time on him when we’ve got a more serious matter to worry about.” Washington raised an eyebrow, implying the seriousness of the situation before he explained. “While we were at the show, I heard the rumor that Ralston Hope’s returned.”

  Hayward had come to Bear Creek a year after Ralston had been run out of town, so it took him a moment to recall the details. When he did, he winced and it may have been a coincidence but Derrick jerked an
d sat upright on his chair.

  “What did you bring me here for?” he said, eyeing them blearily.

  Hayward waved at him to be quiet and drew Washington aside.

  “That has to be wrong,” he said. “Ralston would never return.”

  “Men like Ralston don’t think like others do.”

  Hayward tipped back his hat as he contemplated the unwelcome situations the next few days might bring.

  “Unfinished business or looking to stir up old hatreds?”

  “It could be both.” Washington dragged Derrick to his feet before beckoning Hayward to join him in leaving. “Unfortunately for Ralston I’m not a patient man, so we won’t wait for him to let us know.”

  “How will Malachi make me reappear?” Adam asked when he’d crawled off the stage.

  “He’s a magician,” Florence said with a smile. “He’ll magic you back.”

  Adam furrowed his brow, but her only response was to laugh and head on to the stage where she paraded around the now empty safe. From the side of the stage, Adam had a clear view of the mirror that had been positioned behind the safe to hide his escape. When she moved the mirror, he noted how her constant movement and bright costume drew the eye, presumably to distract the audience from noticing other elements of the trick.

  “What Malachi does is even more impressive when you can see how it’s done,” a man said behind him.

  Adam turned to find the cloaked man had joined him, although he’d removed his mask. He introduced himself as Severin O’Hara.

  “I knew it was a trick,” Adam said. When Severin smiled, he shrugged. “Well, of course it is, but I thought Florence had sneaked into the safe through a trapdoor. Now I can see how she got there.”

  “You think you can see, but don’t be so sure.” Severin gestured at Malachi, who was spinning the safe around. “Malachi is the master of hiding the truth in plain sight, so when you think you know how it’s done, he’ll fool you again.”

  “When you’re sitting in the audience, it’s hard to work out what he does with the safe, but picking the right card with the knife was more obvious.”