The Guilty - Jason Pinter [67]
Pretend to be appalled by the killer's deeds while cashing the
checks he helped rake in.
I waited outside the department building for Agnes. She
got off the bus, then dropped her keys when she saw me. I
guess if I saw a guy with messy hair, dark circles under his
eyes and a heroin addict's jitters waiting in front of my office
I'd be a little unnerved, too.
"Professor Trimble," I said, trying to slow down my convulsions. "Do you have a minute?"
"Mr. Parker," she said, picking up her keys and smoothing
out her clothes. "My taking your appointment with Amanda
did not give you a free invitation to show up uninvited before
I've had my morning scone."
"I understand that and I apologize for my abruptness and
for interrupting your, uh, scone eating. But I need your help."
She sighed. "I should charge you a convenience fee." Then
noticed I'd come alone. "Miss Davies isn't with you today?"
"No, just me," I said, eager to avoid any more discussions
of Amanda. Agnes didn't need to know that the only way I
could stop myself from thinking about Amanda was following this story.
Agnes entered the building, led me to her office. She
unlocked the door and flipped the light switch, the lava lamp
glowing a festive red and green and casting a Christmas-y
glow over her replica firearms. "Did you have any luck with
the information on the Winchester?" she asked.
"You have no idea," I said. I told her about New Mexico,
about the stolen Winchester, and the connection to Billy the Kid.
When I finished Agnes sat back and twiddled her lip with her
thumbs.
"William H. Bonney," she said, "is one of the most mis- The Guilty
199
understood figures not only to come from the lawlessness of
the Old West, but in all of history."
"How so?"
"For the most part, Billy the Kid has been portrayed as one
of the most brutal men to ever raise a rifle. It's true Bonney killed
over twenty men and almost single-handedly changed this
country to the United States of Anarchy. But..." She trailed off.
"But what?"
"But as you may not know, Bonney wasn't always evil. He
was a petty thief who actually wanted to do good."
"The Regulators," I said.
"That's right. See, Billy was the very first inspiration for
tabloid journalism."
"Yellow journalism," I said, remembering my conversation with Jack.
"That's right. And let me tell you, some of the crock those
papers churned out would put the Weekly World News to shame.
Every inch Billy took, they credited him with a yard. It's true
that he was one of the most deadly men to ever hold a Winchester, but it wasn't until his killer, Pat Garrett, published a
book about the whole ordeal that the legend took off. Fact is,
Bonney was only confirmed to have killed nine men. The
others were killed in larger gunfights. Most were likely killed
by other members of the Regulators, but guess who got credit.
Most of his closest friends thought the Kid was pretty easygoing, even funny, but dime store novelists knew funny didn't
sell a villain. Dangerous, cold-blooded and hair-triggered did.
"You look at the legend of Billy the Kid now," she continued, "almost a hundred and thirty years after his death, and
the man has become a folk hero."
"Does the name Brushy Bill mean anything to you?"
Agnes eyed me suspiciously. "Where did you hear that?"
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Jason Pinter
"In Fort Sumner. A museum curator mentioned it."
"Never mind Brushy Bill Roberts. That's one myth grown
from diseased roots."
"If it's all the same, Professor Trimble, I'd like the opportunity to check every tree and then decide if I'm barking up
the wrong one."
She sighed. "It really is just a waste of time."
"Tell that to the four dead people."
Agnes sighed. "If you insist. Brushy Bill Roberts," she
continued, "was a charlatan in the 1950s who claimed to be
Billy the Kid."
"Wasn't the Kid shot and killed in 1881?"
"Yes," Agnes said. "But like Elvis, Tupac Shakur and the
Loch Ness monster, some people simply love conspiracy
theories and won't give them a rest despite all the evidence
proving their insane delusions are complete