The Shadow Town (An Evan Ryder Weird Western) by J.W. Bradley

Author:J.W. Bradley [Bradley, J.W.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Dark & Stormy Tales Inc.
Published: 2013-10-23T16:00:00+00:00

10

Nina followed the men down a wooden ladder into a musty smelling attic. She was thankful for, if not particularly surprised by Ryder’s quick acceptance of John Carlyle. He treated the man with the warmth and respect he afforded almost everyone.

“I must thank you for your aid Mr. Carlyle, Nina and I were in truly dire peril out there.” He said.

“Happy to help.” Carlyle bowed his head gracefully.

From the attic they descended to a small office. Hoot peeked out of the office door then motioned them on. They were on a balcony overlooking a large marble floored room. Furniture was strewn about and the once grand bank lobby looked to Nina like a quake had hit it.

As they made their way down the stairs, Ryder frowned at the windows where shapes cast in moonlight could be seen milling outside. “Those don’t look terribly secure.”

Hoot nodded in agreement. “They’re not, but we are heading for the vault, it seems Inspector Henry had held out there for some time.”

“Ah, an excellent location.” Ryder mused as Hoot led them to a large steel door with something like a ship’s wheel at its center. “Of course once we are inside if the townsfolk get into the bank, well, that’s another matter.”

“We will hurry, I need you to see something though. Mr. Carlyle, please keep watch out here.” The black clad investigator and his tall top hat disappeared into the vault. Nina followed close behind Ryder into the dark space.

Hoot lit a lantern he had retrieved from the floor of the vault, a crude, hastily constructed lab was revealed in the wavering light. A long table was pushed against the far wall and upon it was a corpse, symmetrically flayed open to reveal its skeleton and organs. It had been a man of middling age and his sandy haired head had been bisected perfectly to reveal a brain of rather unusual dimensions. Nina looked away from the disturbing sight to see that several books on anatomy and rare diseases were scattered about.

Ryder’s eyes were haunted as he surveyed the macabre scene. He walked over and picked up a leather bound journal from the table. His fingers flipped through the pages quickly and he nodded as he went. He looked up at her and the others. “Now that we have a moment, I need to share something with the two of you. It was Nina actually who gave me the final pieces of the puzzle…”

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