They Call Her Death (2024) Movie Script
1
- Who's there?
What are you doing here?
- Mrs. Pray, I regret to
inform you that your husband,
Thomas Pray, had a bounty on his head
for the robbery and murder
of one George Cartwright
of Sterling City in Morgan County,
and was subsequently wanted
by the sheriff, dead or alive.
You may claim your corpse
from the undertaker
of Sterling City
after I collect my reward
from the authorities
and justice has been
served in its entirety.
Watch yourself, little peach.
Pretty flowers.
And right on time, too.
Come on.
I haven't seen
you in Sterling before.
Are you new to our community?
- Thomas and I kept to ourselves.
- I see.
This profession provides me
with a unique opportunity
to become closely acquainted
with all the locals.
It's a shame that we
had to meet under these-
- Is this him?
- Indeed.
Did you want a public viewing?
Our rates for embalming and
preservation are very reasonable
and we utilize new formald-
- There's a hole in his head, Mr. Winter.
- Yes.
Well, there are methods that I can use-
- No.
No viewing.
No funeral.
I'm all that he had.
- Very well.
I do have to inform you though,
that the coffin that
he is resting in is $20
and is required for transportation.
- I can't transport this coffin.
- Mrs. Pray, what was your exact plan
for getting your husband
to his final resting place?
I can arrange for transportation.
- I don't have any money.
- I can set up a line of credit.
I will draw that up.
My men outside will take
care of the transportation
and the burial.
- That'll do.
I got it from here.
Y'all can go.
- We ain't been paid yet.
- Mr. Winter can charge it to my account!
It's
customary for a tip-
- Go on then.
Get moving.
Got a lot of work to do.
- Howdy, ma'am.
- You're the sheriff?
- Yeah, Sheriff Frank Jaroo.
This here's your town Marshall,
Leigh Murphy, at your service.
How can I help ya?
- My husband is dead because of you.
- Ma'am, you're gonna have to
be a little bit more specific.
- Thomas Pray!
My husband was Thomas Pray.
- Okay.
Come on inside.
I'm sure you remember George Cartwright.
George was your husband's
lawyer when he got busted
for sticking up those stage coaches.
You remember him now?
- Thomas and I had only
just met about that time.
- You mean around the
time that he went to jail?
- Yes.
- Well, George was found with
his head caved in a week ago
and a witness placed Thomas at the scene.
- What?
- So that, coupled with
the clear traceable motive
to George having lost the court case
that sent your husband
to jail, we had ever-
- Who? Who saw him and when?
I'm afraid I'm
not at liberty to say.
- Well, it's impossible.
He would've been with me.
He was always with me.
- George was loved and
well-respected in this town.
Your husband's actions
really got people up in arms.
- So, what?
You just sent out the
word to have him shot?
- Thomas was considered dangerous
and wanted dead or alive,
as it says.
Bounty hunters are within their rights
to use lethal force when they see fit.
Mrs. Pray, I am sorry for your loss.
I really am.
But women shouldn't be
associating with men
involved in so much criminality.
Once the shock of all this has worn off,
I think you will find yourself
in an advantageous position
to redefine your life.
We are all masters of our own destiny.
Maybe, it's time you stop
wallowing with thieves
and literal swine on the
edge of civilized society
and join us here in Sterling.
- Who witnessed my husband?
- I hope someday that you'll reconsider.
- And why do you give a fuck?
- Because I love my
town and everyone in it.
I live to serve them and God willing,
I'll be serving them from a
Senate seat in a year's time.
Anyways, there are a lot of benefits
from leaving that hard
country living behind
and joining us here in town,
especially if you're a widow.
- Thomas did not kill that man.
- Mrs. Pray, I'm afraid that he did.
- I am telling you,
he could not have done it.
And I'm gonna find out who did.
- Mrs. Pray.
- And prove that my husband is innocent.
- Mrs. Pray!
- Innocent!
And that bounty hunter
murdered him in cold blood
with your official seal of approval.
- Okay, you do that then.
And you let me know if you find anything.
- What are y'all staring at?
You got something you wanna say?
What about you? Huh?
- Whiskey.
So do you know anything about
a man named George Cartwright?
- Who's asking?
- I am.
- And who are you?
He was some rich lawyer guy. Got killed.
- And that's all you know?
- Yes.
And I don't really care for strangers
holding my foot to the
fire in my own place.
Why are you asking, anyway?
- Well, I figure you're bound to hear
lots of stories while you're
slinging drinks all day.
- Hmm.
- So hear any stories?
- I said that's all I know!
I ain't gonna say it again.
- So you ain't heard nothing about
say who did it or who's seen it?
- Are you deaf, stranger?
- I ain't deaf.
I'm single-minded.
- Hmm? Yeah.
Most drunks is.
- I know who done it!
You don't say?
- Like the law says
it was that bandit at the
edge of town, Thom Pray.
Why you hassling Maggie about it?
- Thomas was my husband.
- Hmm?
George Cartwright was a good man!
- So was Thomas, before that
bounty hunter took him from me.
- They say he was a thief and-
- We had to do what we
had to do to survive.
He was a changed man.
We'll, I'll be.
A changed man, was he?
A chaaaanged man!
And what about you, Missy?
Is you "changed," too?
- He did not kill that man.
- Bullshit.
You hear what I says?
I says,
bull
shit!
- All right, Tex. Come on now.
- Come on now, what?
She was married to a killer.
Who knows what she's done?
You a killer, too?
Like your pig-fucking husband!
- Stop it, now!
- Damn it, stop it!
- Lady, cut it out!
You want some too?
- I didn't do shit.
- Goddamn it, that's enough!
I will not have you tearing up my place.
Now get!
Tex, get your ass off my
floor and get outta my bar!
- Hey, Frank, you see that?
- Well, look who it is.
- Is that Tex she's whooping up on?
I believe it is.
- You gonna do something or?
- Nah, if I know Tex,
I'd wager that he was asking for it.
Besides, Mrs. Pray is a widow.
I suppose we can give her a
little mercy and leave her be.
- Who's the pig-fucker now, bitch?
- Goddamn, she fucked him up good.
- Someone in this town knows something
about who really killed George Cartwright,
and it was not my Thomas!
- I believe this issue
has resolved itself.
- Thomas?
Thomas?
Who the fuck are you?
You sure
know how to make a ruckus.
Stay the fuck out of Sterling!
- Women shouldn't be associating with...
- Our rates...
- ...on the edge of civilized society...
- What was your exact plan...?
- Pig fucking husband!
- ...A line of credit...
Justice.
- Served in its entirety.
- You a killer too?
My men outside will take
care of the transportation...
- We ain't been paid yet.
...And the burial
- Go away.
Mrs. Pray?
My name is Deputy Bosley Turner.
Can we have a word together?
Mrs. Pray, I understand you're
in mourning for your husband
and I want to extend
my sincere condolences.
I also understand public opinion
in regards to your late husband has been,
shall we say, lacking in compassion?
Fortunately for you,
I am a recent transplant to this community
and therefore, harbor
no such biased opinions.
Just wanna ask you a
couple short questions,
then I'll be on my way.
- Fine.
- So you're Frank's new deputy?
- Yes, ma'am.
- So are you gonna ask me
some questions or what?
- Drowning your sorrows?
Is that where your
husband rests, Mrs. Pray?
It takes a significant
amount of work to bury a man.
I understand you hired some assistants?
- The undertaker insisted on it.
- Hm.
So you're familiar with
the Paulie Brothers,
Luther and Fat Jack?
- Never heard their names.
- Well, now you have.
- I don't recall no fat man.
- Those men went missing
after your husband's burial.
That's all you have to
say about the matter?
- They just helped me move
the body and dig the hole.
I sent them away after the hole was dug.
- So you buried him yourself?
- Yes.
- With that limp?
- Excuse me?
- You did all that work
with an injured leg?
- No.
That happened later.
- When you whipped Tex back in town?
- No, I was wrangling a pig
and it got away from me.
- Did Tex paint your face like that, or...
...was that a pig too?
- Tex did it.
- Yeah.
Yeah, he must have.
You are a formidable woman, Mrs. Pray.
- That's right.
Do you have any more questions, Deputy?
- Because I have many.
- By all means.
I wanna know
how you sleep at night
knowing the law you represent
supports the murder of an
innocent man by a paid killer
and calls it justice?
Mrs. Pray,
I'm unfamiliar with the details of your-
- Details?
There are no details.
It's all a lie.
Bounty law may
be severe but it is the law.
- And that's good enough for you, is it?
I owe him, Deputy.
I owe it to my husband.
- I told you not to come
to my place of business!
How many?
- Dunno. All's I see is the driver.
- Luck we've been having lately,
that wagon's probably full
of dozen other outlaws
with their guns out ready to blow me away.
- I doubt that.
- Welp, reckon there's
only one way to find out.
You know the deal.
If you see anyone coming,
fire a shot right in the air.
- Be careful.
- Hands up, friend.
That's good.
No need to make this ugly.
Now how about you come down
off that wagon, nice and slow?
What's in the wagon?
What's in the damn wagon?
- Nothing!
Nuthin'?
There ain't nothing valuable back there?
No. I swear.
- I won't ask again.
What's in the wagon?
Alright, let's have a look then, shall we?
Open it.
- Sir, I'm begging you.
- And I'm telling you.
Open it.
- It's just my wife and children, sir.
We ain't got no food.
We ain't got no money, nothing.
We're just looking for someplace
where I can find work so...
so my family don't die.
Oh God.
Sorry for ruining supper.
- You're a good man, Thomas.
- Come on.
- You're resting good, ain't you, peach?
Now...I's supposed to shoot ya...
...but in this state,
hardly seems like fair sport.
I just can't bring myself
to kill a sleeping woman,
especially one as pretty as you.
Although I gotta admit,
I'm a little disappointed.
I heard tell
you's a real pistol.
I was looking forward to a
dust up with a worthy woman.
I ain't got no qualms about
hitting woman, mind ya,
providing she's...worthy of a fight.
and you...
are...
worthy.
Your husband was a lucky man.
Well...
till I came along, that is.
This seems a bit more
fair, wouldn't you say?
Let's leave it up to the fire.
Sweet dreams, little peach.
- Please take this.
It's not much, unfortunately.
We don't have much to give.
- Thank you.
- Do you want a ride into town or...?
Hey now, you don't need to be scared!
What the hell is this?
- Where'd you get these?
- Santa Claus.
- You best start speaking the truth
before I make you do it.
- Tuck my stones back into
my pants and cut me free!
- These guns were stolen from me.
Oh.
- Almost didn't recognize ya
underneath all that filth.
You that bitch what's been
causing all those problems.
- That's right.
I'm that bitch.
Problems for who?
Same person who gave you these guns?
- You're supposed to be dead.
- Well, I ain't.
Sorry to disappoint.
Who gave you the guns?
Maybe, I took 'em myself.
- I've seen what you do to
folks whose backs is turned.
That couple in the road both
had bullets in their backs.
If you'd have took them,
you'd have killed me in my sleep.
I'm asking you again,
you yellow sack of shit,
who gave you the guns?
- Oh, for fuck's sakes.
- Who...gave you...
...the guns?
- Go to hell!
- Who?
- God, you sick bitch!
You sick fucking bitch!
- I'm only gonna ask
you this one more time.
Who gave you the guns?
- I'm gonna cut your damn head off!
- Wrong answer.
Who gave you these guns, hillbilly?
- It was Frank!
Frank, the sheriff!
He got 'em from a bounty
hunter and he gave them to me!
- Do you know what happened to my husband?
Answer me!
- Cartwright had evidence on Frank!
So he did what he always does.
He hired that bounty hunter friend of his
to kill Cartwright,
rob him and then pin it on some sucker
with a phony bounty.
What evidence?
- That he's been robbing
and killing people
to pay off the legislatures.
- To secure his place in the Senate?
- Hey, congratulations.
You figured it out!
- I can't believe it.
- You better believe it.
He does shit like that all the time.
Frank's so crooked, if you fed him nails,
he'd spit out cork screws.
- What about JM and all that gold?
- Frank's gold.
JM only handles the money and takes a cut.
Don't you get it, bitch?
We've got all the cards.
The law in Sterling owns your ass.
- And I own your balls.
You bitch! My balls!
You squished my fucking balls!
- When you murdered that
innocent couple back there,
Mr. Town Marshall,
who'd you kill first?
The fuck do you care?
Tell me.
- The man.
I shot the man first.
Satisfied?
- And she saw it happen?
Yeah.
Lovely Miss Maggie.
A round of whiskey for my
new friends here, please.
It is well earned after a long day.
- Coming right up, Deputy.
What kind of mess y'all tending to today?
- There's been a string of hold ups
along the countryside
and of course, we learned that
the Pray pig farm is burned down.
And then we saw, well,
let's just say we saw the worst of it.
But that's done now.
Now, we drink.
- Did I hear you say that
pig farm burned down?
That's right.
You know anything about that, Tex?
- No.
Just she probably deserved it, is all.
She dead?
- Excuse me?
I says, "She dead?"
- Would that give you a
personal sense of satisfaction?
They haven't found a body.
Any more questions?
You shouldn't have
paid him without a body,
a finger, her eye, anything.
- I trust Diego got the job done.
- But why?
He doesn't have a personal
stake in any of this
and that woman-
- You gotta stop worrying
about that woman.
The deal is done!
We got bigger things on our hands.
Everything is going smoothly.
You just gotta stay calm
and steady on me, ya hear?
- Long day, friend?
- Ever since I came to this charming town,
it's been nothing but long days.
- You must be Frank's new deputy,
I heard so much about.
- But what about this new deputy you got?
- So, what about him?
I got him chasing Leigh's
tail all over the county,
keeping him busy.
He's harmless.
- Well, does he understand
how you operate?
- Not everyone needs to know everything.
- He is gonna be fat in the fire
if you don't keep a close watch on him!
- What did I just tell you?
I got my eye on him.
By the time he finishes
running those fools' errands,
our business will be settled.
- You are affiliated with
Frank in some fashion?
- I'm a bounty hunter.
Sometimes, I bring him wanted men.
Is that right?
- He is not like the others.
I don't think this one is for sale.
- JM, 20 years ago in a few states over,
he would literally have
been for sale.
You think too much of these
"lesser-thans".
- May I inquire about your
most recent acquisitions?
- No offense, Deputy,
I don't like talking business
if'n I ain't paid to do so.
- Well, I'm simply wondering
if uh... Thomas
Pray may be among them?
Or perhaps you may know a little something
about the disappearance
of his wife, Molly,
and the recent burning of their home?
- Has Leigh checked in with you yet?
- Not yet.
- Fucking drunk.
He's been gone nearly a week.
- So what?
- Frank, I'm saying that
I can see the seams.
I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here.
- Then don't.
- Your attention is split too thin!
And she's missing, is she?
You didn't find this
Molly person in the fire?
Huh.
That is a shame.
- Listen, when this town was nothing more
than 30-some ranchers and prostitutes,
running your bunko act was manageable.
But this?
And running for a Senate seat?
Frank, you have enough power
with the funds you have accumulated.
Just keep the goddamn gold!
- Would you keep your goddamn voice down?
- Frank, I'm saying "Why?"
- You look tired.
Your eyes are weary.
I seen eyes like yours before,
in the war.
- So you have served?
- I did.
- Whereabouts?
- New Mexico. Texas.
Hell, I was at the Battle of Valverde.
- You don't say?
- Unfortunately, my time
in the Army was cut short.
Or fortunately. Depending
on how you look at it.
- Now what does that mean?
My whole company was killed.
Talking to a lone survivor.
- Why?
- I am trying to build something!
- And what is that?
A country.
- The way I see it, Deputy,
it's every man for himself in this world.
You know why we won that
day at Valverde, Deputy?
It wasn't for the war.
Hell, it wasn't for the South.
It was for a drink of water.
See, we was out in that heat for days,
parched of thirst.
And them Yanks?
They was the only thing standing
between us and the Rio Grande.
We killed them boys 'cause we was thirsty.
Nothing more, nothing less.
So tell me,
what'd them weary Yankee
eyes of yours see today?
- There was a stick up
along the countryside.
Couple had been shot, wagon looted.
- I assumed you were
made of stronger stuff.
- Oh no, no, no, no.
No, that wasn't it.
It was what else we found.
- And what was that?
- There was a man who
had been tied to a tree.
His manhood mutilated, shot full of holes
and then his head cut off.
- Molly Pray!
- You told me to let you
know if I found anything.
Eat lead, cocksuckers!
- Help!
Help!
Help me!
- Hey, hey! Get that bitch!
She's making a run for it!
Cut her off on the right!
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
- Thomas!
Am I dead?
No, I-I can't be!
Not yet!
Those men that did this
to you, they have to pay!
I can't rest until...
I can't rest until they're all dead.
They must die.
Speak to me.
Are you still in there?
- What?
Help you?
- What? What does that mean?
- What?
- I...
- Whatever it takes.
Find a body?
- How's JM?
- Alive.
Shorthanded but alive.
- Could have used your help today.
I could have covered more
ground if I had more men.
- If you're referring to these gentlemen,
I need them to get this place
looking back to normal
as soon as possible.
I've got some guests coming
in from the legislature
and if they were to pay me a visit
with things being as they are-
- I was talking about you.
- I have better things to do
than traipse around the countryside
until I trip over some stiff bitch!
- You've got better things to do?
- That's right.
- Several people were killed
in your town last night, Frank.
And you're too busy to
find the woman who did it.
Now, it feels to me that maybe
you don't want her found.
- Oh, really?
- Feels like it.
Well, while
you were out riding around,
we got word from the
Stevens family out out East.
They saw Mrs. Pray making camp
on the edge of their property.
Now, how is that for help?
- Really?
So Buck Stevens rode all the way here
and had time to tell you while I was gone?
- Well, it is a ride. That's true.
All the more reason
you better hurry along.
Now, I believe that she'll be making camp
on the Canyon Pass Road
if she's still out there
that runs through the back
edge of their property,
- I suppose you're too busy to ride along?
- Actually, I thought she'd be more likely
to turn herself into you alone,
if she's still alive, which I doubt.
- Maybe so.
- Good.
Best get steppin'.
Follow him.
And kill him.
- Frank sends his regards!
I'll be damned!
You need to come with
me and turn yourself in.
- To the man who just
tried to have you killed?
- Frank will his due in due time.
For now, you need to do the right thing
and come quietly with me back to Sterling.
- Help me take him down.
- Now I'm serious, now!
You killed a lot of
innocent people last night
and one not-so-innocent Town Marshall.
What's the difference
between you and Frank,
if you're gonna kill innocent people?
- It's different.
- Something definitely is.
What's your plan?
- JM's hiding gold someplace.
I think I know where to look.
- Where?
- Same place he hides all
of Frank's dirty secrets.
Underground.
- Underground!
JM Winter!
- You again?
Get 'em, boys!
Oh, shit!
- Where's that gold going?
- Well, hello, Deputy.
I would ask what you're doing
here with this creature,
but I never trusted you to begin with,
so I can't say I'm surprised.
- We know all about Frank's schemes, JM.
Now, where's that gold going?
Okay.
I'm gonna give you to the count of three.
- Oh, yeah?
You're gonna have me shot, Deputy?
- One.
- I am a respectable citizen.
You are an officer of the law
and I am not resisting.
- Two.
- Be reasonable!
Okay. Okay!
Wait.
You think I wanna be out
here in this cemetery
hauling shit around for
that son of a bitch?
If I quit now, he'll kill me.
- I can protect you.
- You're naive.
- As long as you tell me
where that gold's going,
I give you my word, you will be safe.
- That asshole used me as a human shield
while this one shot my damn hand off.
How am I supposed to earn a living
building with a goddamn hook?
He's sloppy!
He's stupid!
And he doesn't listen
to anything anyone says.
I told him that you shouldn't be trusted.
- You are breaking my heart.
The gold, JM.
- It's going to the Cartwright House.
- George Cartwright's house?
Why?
- There's a big party tonight
for the legislators
that Frank has paid off.
- And you are bringing in the goods?
- That's right.
- Why George's place?
- The Cartwrights wanted to show
their appreciation to Frank
for solving George's murder so promptly.
And Frank just couldn't stop smiling.
He thought it was hysterical.
- JM, you are under arrest.
You can't pr-
- Whoa!
Goddamn it, Molly Pray!
Why?
Why would you do that?
He was giving up.
I gave him my word!
- They all die.
That was the deal.
- Deal?
What deal?
Am I a part of this deal in any capacity
that I should be aware of?
- No.
Ladies and gentlemen,
if I could have your
ears for just a moment.
I would like to say a few words.
Now if I've learned anything
from my time on this earth,
it is that we're all
masters of our own destiny.
- Now when me and thirty others
come to this savage land
trying to make a new home for ourselves,
it was only through American grit,
determination, and spirit
that we were able to transform it
into the truly great place that it is now!
- Here here!
- Yeah!
- And when rustlers and primitives
and other godless people
threatened her in her infancy,
well, we fought back with
that same righteous spirit
and we prevailed!
We sent them back to the dark
corners from which they came!
Because this is our America!
It was ours before we
ever set boots on her.
That's right, sir!
- Yes, she waiting,
just waiting for someone
with a proper grit,
determination and spirit.
And I promise to carry
those same qualities
with me all the way to the Senate!
- Thank you, everyone.
Enjoy yourselves. Thank you.
Thank you.
- There's a proper politician.
- Rousing words, Frank. I mean it.
Next stop? The Senate.
But then who knows?
Well, thank you. You flatter me.
- Yes, that was a very
adequate performance.
But I'm not interested in any
chest beating nationalism,
if there's no money in our coffers.
- No, gentlemen, I can assure you that
that is being handled at this very moment.
It was just a matter
of making a withdrawal
that was delaying things slightly.
But it is en route to this very party.
You see? A man of action
as well as words.
Get out of the damn way!
- Lookin' for this?
- What the fuck you think
you're doing, Turner?
Molly Pray's shootin' the place to shit!
Now gimme my gun, ya son of a bitch!
- You tried to have me killed, Frank.
- What are you gonna do, Turner?
You gonna shoot me?
- Damn bitch!
You killed everybody!
To hell with you and your husband.
You're both trash.
You don't mean anything!
My only regret is I
didn't kill him myself
but that would be beneath me.
Because people like me rule the world.
People like you shovel shit!
I can't move.
I can't move. I can't...
I can't move my body!
I can't...I can't move my body!
I'm paralyzed.
You paralyzed me.
You paralyzed me!
- Where's your bounty hunter?
- Ugh. Just kill me.
Just kill me!
- I will.
I promise.
First you have to tell me where he is.
- Shoot me.
Shoot me!
Shoot me, you goddamn bitch!
- Where is he?
- In a cabin in Firecreek
Valley, south of Sterling City.
Now just...just do it already.
I'm already a dead man.
Just do it!
- Go get us some horses.
- Guess I best get to steppin'.
Come on!
Come on!
Wait!
Wait, wait, wait!
Where you going?
Where you going?
Come back! Shoot me! Come-
No...What are you?...
What is that?!
What are you...?
Have mercy, I-
No. I don't, n-nooo-
- I take it Frank's dead?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
You are persistent.
I'll give you that.
- My life ended the day
you came to my home.
Thought I'd return the gesture.
- I was working well within the law.
But you come here to murder me.
No official documents.
Pretty big difference, I'd say.
But hey,
I was just trying to
survive like everybody else.
Like you, peach.
- Get your guns and
walk your ass out here.
Well, you wanna
settle this like real men, huh?
Mm.
Atta girl.
I knew you wouldn't disappoint.
Very well.
Let's do things your way.
You ready to be reunited
with your husband?
- All outta bullets.
- Who's there?
What are you doing here?
- Mrs. Pray, I regret to
inform you that your husband,
Thomas Pray, had a bounty on his head
for the robbery and murder
of one George Cartwright
of Sterling City in Morgan County,
and was subsequently wanted
by the sheriff, dead or alive.
You may claim your corpse
from the undertaker
of Sterling City
after I collect my reward
from the authorities
and justice has been
served in its entirety.
Watch yourself, little peach.
Pretty flowers.
And right on time, too.
Come on.
I haven't seen
you in Sterling before.
Are you new to our community?
- Thomas and I kept to ourselves.
- I see.
This profession provides me
with a unique opportunity
to become closely acquainted
with all the locals.
It's a shame that we
had to meet under these-
- Is this him?
- Indeed.
Did you want a public viewing?
Our rates for embalming and
preservation are very reasonable
and we utilize new formald-
- There's a hole in his head, Mr. Winter.
- Yes.
Well, there are methods that I can use-
- No.
No viewing.
No funeral.
I'm all that he had.
- Very well.
I do have to inform you though,
that the coffin that
he is resting in is $20
and is required for transportation.
- I can't transport this coffin.
- Mrs. Pray, what was your exact plan
for getting your husband
to his final resting place?
I can arrange for transportation.
- I don't have any money.
- I can set up a line of credit.
I will draw that up.
My men outside will take
care of the transportation
and the burial.
- That'll do.
I got it from here.
Y'all can go.
- We ain't been paid yet.
- Mr. Winter can charge it to my account!
It's
customary for a tip-
- Go on then.
Get moving.
Got a lot of work to do.
- Howdy, ma'am.
- You're the sheriff?
- Yeah, Sheriff Frank Jaroo.
This here's your town Marshall,
Leigh Murphy, at your service.
How can I help ya?
- My husband is dead because of you.
- Ma'am, you're gonna have to
be a little bit more specific.
- Thomas Pray!
My husband was Thomas Pray.
- Okay.
Come on inside.
I'm sure you remember George Cartwright.
George was your husband's
lawyer when he got busted
for sticking up those stage coaches.
You remember him now?
- Thomas and I had only
just met about that time.
- You mean around the
time that he went to jail?
- Yes.
- Well, George was found with
his head caved in a week ago
and a witness placed Thomas at the scene.
- What?
- So that, coupled with
the clear traceable motive
to George having lost the court case
that sent your husband
to jail, we had ever-
- Who? Who saw him and when?
I'm afraid I'm
not at liberty to say.
- Well, it's impossible.
He would've been with me.
He was always with me.
- George was loved and
well-respected in this town.
Your husband's actions
really got people up in arms.
- So, what?
You just sent out the
word to have him shot?
- Thomas was considered dangerous
and wanted dead or alive,
as it says.
Bounty hunters are within their rights
to use lethal force when they see fit.
Mrs. Pray, I am sorry for your loss.
I really am.
But women shouldn't be
associating with men
involved in so much criminality.
Once the shock of all this has worn off,
I think you will find yourself
in an advantageous position
to redefine your life.
We are all masters of our own destiny.
Maybe, it's time you stop
wallowing with thieves
and literal swine on the
edge of civilized society
and join us here in Sterling.
- Who witnessed my husband?
- I hope someday that you'll reconsider.
- And why do you give a fuck?
- Because I love my
town and everyone in it.
I live to serve them and God willing,
I'll be serving them from a
Senate seat in a year's time.
Anyways, there are a lot of benefits
from leaving that hard
country living behind
and joining us here in town,
especially if you're a widow.
- Thomas did not kill that man.
- Mrs. Pray, I'm afraid that he did.
- I am telling you,
he could not have done it.
And I'm gonna find out who did.
- Mrs. Pray.
- And prove that my husband is innocent.
- Mrs. Pray!
- Innocent!
And that bounty hunter
murdered him in cold blood
with your official seal of approval.
- Okay, you do that then.
And you let me know if you find anything.
- What are y'all staring at?
You got something you wanna say?
What about you? Huh?
- Whiskey.
So do you know anything about
a man named George Cartwright?
- Who's asking?
- I am.
- And who are you?
He was some rich lawyer guy. Got killed.
- And that's all you know?
- Yes.
And I don't really care for strangers
holding my foot to the
fire in my own place.
Why are you asking, anyway?
- Well, I figure you're bound to hear
lots of stories while you're
slinging drinks all day.
- Hmm.
- So hear any stories?
- I said that's all I know!
I ain't gonna say it again.
- So you ain't heard nothing about
say who did it or who's seen it?
- Are you deaf, stranger?
- I ain't deaf.
I'm single-minded.
- Hmm? Yeah.
Most drunks is.
- I know who done it!
You don't say?
- Like the law says
it was that bandit at the
edge of town, Thom Pray.
Why you hassling Maggie about it?
- Thomas was my husband.
- Hmm?
George Cartwright was a good man!
- So was Thomas, before that
bounty hunter took him from me.
- They say he was a thief and-
- We had to do what we
had to do to survive.
He was a changed man.
We'll, I'll be.
A changed man, was he?
A chaaaanged man!
And what about you, Missy?
Is you "changed," too?
- He did not kill that man.
- Bullshit.
You hear what I says?
I says,
bull
shit!
- All right, Tex. Come on now.
- Come on now, what?
She was married to a killer.
Who knows what she's done?
You a killer, too?
Like your pig-fucking husband!
- Stop it, now!
- Damn it, stop it!
- Lady, cut it out!
You want some too?
- I didn't do shit.
- Goddamn it, that's enough!
I will not have you tearing up my place.
Now get!
Tex, get your ass off my
floor and get outta my bar!
- Hey, Frank, you see that?
- Well, look who it is.
- Is that Tex she's whooping up on?
I believe it is.
- You gonna do something or?
- Nah, if I know Tex,
I'd wager that he was asking for it.
Besides, Mrs. Pray is a widow.
I suppose we can give her a
little mercy and leave her be.
- Who's the pig-fucker now, bitch?
- Goddamn, she fucked him up good.
- Someone in this town knows something
about who really killed George Cartwright,
and it was not my Thomas!
- I believe this issue
has resolved itself.
- Thomas?
Thomas?
Who the fuck are you?
You sure
know how to make a ruckus.
Stay the fuck out of Sterling!
- Women shouldn't be associating with...
- Our rates...
- ...on the edge of civilized society...
- What was your exact plan...?
- Pig fucking husband!
- ...A line of credit...
Justice.
- Served in its entirety.
- You a killer too?
My men outside will take
care of the transportation...
- We ain't been paid yet.
...And the burial
- Go away.
Mrs. Pray?
My name is Deputy Bosley Turner.
Can we have a word together?
Mrs. Pray, I understand you're
in mourning for your husband
and I want to extend
my sincere condolences.
I also understand public opinion
in regards to your late husband has been,
shall we say, lacking in compassion?
Fortunately for you,
I am a recent transplant to this community
and therefore, harbor
no such biased opinions.
Just wanna ask you a
couple short questions,
then I'll be on my way.
- Fine.
- So you're Frank's new deputy?
- Yes, ma'am.
- So are you gonna ask me
some questions or what?
- Drowning your sorrows?
Is that where your
husband rests, Mrs. Pray?
It takes a significant
amount of work to bury a man.
I understand you hired some assistants?
- The undertaker insisted on it.
- Hm.
So you're familiar with
the Paulie Brothers,
Luther and Fat Jack?
- Never heard their names.
- Well, now you have.
- I don't recall no fat man.
- Those men went missing
after your husband's burial.
That's all you have to
say about the matter?
- They just helped me move
the body and dig the hole.
I sent them away after the hole was dug.
- So you buried him yourself?
- Yes.
- With that limp?
- Excuse me?
- You did all that work
with an injured leg?
- No.
That happened later.
- When you whipped Tex back in town?
- No, I was wrangling a pig
and it got away from me.
- Did Tex paint your face like that, or...
...was that a pig too?
- Tex did it.
- Yeah.
Yeah, he must have.
You are a formidable woman, Mrs. Pray.
- That's right.
Do you have any more questions, Deputy?
- Because I have many.
- By all means.
I wanna know
how you sleep at night
knowing the law you represent
supports the murder of an
innocent man by a paid killer
and calls it justice?
Mrs. Pray,
I'm unfamiliar with the details of your-
- Details?
There are no details.
It's all a lie.
Bounty law may
be severe but it is the law.
- And that's good enough for you, is it?
I owe him, Deputy.
I owe it to my husband.
- I told you not to come
to my place of business!
How many?
- Dunno. All's I see is the driver.
- Luck we've been having lately,
that wagon's probably full
of dozen other outlaws
with their guns out ready to blow me away.
- I doubt that.
- Welp, reckon there's
only one way to find out.
You know the deal.
If you see anyone coming,
fire a shot right in the air.
- Be careful.
- Hands up, friend.
That's good.
No need to make this ugly.
Now how about you come down
off that wagon, nice and slow?
What's in the wagon?
What's in the damn wagon?
- Nothing!
Nuthin'?
There ain't nothing valuable back there?
No. I swear.
- I won't ask again.
What's in the wagon?
Alright, let's have a look then, shall we?
Open it.
- Sir, I'm begging you.
- And I'm telling you.
Open it.
- It's just my wife and children, sir.
We ain't got no food.
We ain't got no money, nothing.
We're just looking for someplace
where I can find work so...
so my family don't die.
Oh God.
Sorry for ruining supper.
- You're a good man, Thomas.
- Come on.
- You're resting good, ain't you, peach?
Now...I's supposed to shoot ya...
...but in this state,
hardly seems like fair sport.
I just can't bring myself
to kill a sleeping woman,
especially one as pretty as you.
Although I gotta admit,
I'm a little disappointed.
I heard tell
you's a real pistol.
I was looking forward to a
dust up with a worthy woman.
I ain't got no qualms about
hitting woman, mind ya,
providing she's...worthy of a fight.
and you...
are...
worthy.
Your husband was a lucky man.
Well...
till I came along, that is.
This seems a bit more
fair, wouldn't you say?
Let's leave it up to the fire.
Sweet dreams, little peach.
- Please take this.
It's not much, unfortunately.
We don't have much to give.
- Thank you.
- Do you want a ride into town or...?
Hey now, you don't need to be scared!
What the hell is this?
- Where'd you get these?
- Santa Claus.
- You best start speaking the truth
before I make you do it.
- Tuck my stones back into
my pants and cut me free!
- These guns were stolen from me.
Oh.
- Almost didn't recognize ya
underneath all that filth.
You that bitch what's been
causing all those problems.
- That's right.
I'm that bitch.
Problems for who?
Same person who gave you these guns?
- You're supposed to be dead.
- Well, I ain't.
Sorry to disappoint.
Who gave you the guns?
Maybe, I took 'em myself.
- I've seen what you do to
folks whose backs is turned.
That couple in the road both
had bullets in their backs.
If you'd have took them,
you'd have killed me in my sleep.
I'm asking you again,
you yellow sack of shit,
who gave you the guns?
- Oh, for fuck's sakes.
- Who...gave you...
...the guns?
- Go to hell!
- Who?
- God, you sick bitch!
You sick fucking bitch!
- I'm only gonna ask
you this one more time.
Who gave you the guns?
- I'm gonna cut your damn head off!
- Wrong answer.
Who gave you these guns, hillbilly?
- It was Frank!
Frank, the sheriff!
He got 'em from a bounty
hunter and he gave them to me!
- Do you know what happened to my husband?
Answer me!
- Cartwright had evidence on Frank!
So he did what he always does.
He hired that bounty hunter friend of his
to kill Cartwright,
rob him and then pin it on some sucker
with a phony bounty.
What evidence?
- That he's been robbing
and killing people
to pay off the legislatures.
- To secure his place in the Senate?
- Hey, congratulations.
You figured it out!
- I can't believe it.
- You better believe it.
He does shit like that all the time.
Frank's so crooked, if you fed him nails,
he'd spit out cork screws.
- What about JM and all that gold?
- Frank's gold.
JM only handles the money and takes a cut.
Don't you get it, bitch?
We've got all the cards.
The law in Sterling owns your ass.
- And I own your balls.
You bitch! My balls!
You squished my fucking balls!
- When you murdered that
innocent couple back there,
Mr. Town Marshall,
who'd you kill first?
The fuck do you care?
Tell me.
- The man.
I shot the man first.
Satisfied?
- And she saw it happen?
Yeah.
Lovely Miss Maggie.
A round of whiskey for my
new friends here, please.
It is well earned after a long day.
- Coming right up, Deputy.
What kind of mess y'all tending to today?
- There's been a string of hold ups
along the countryside
and of course, we learned that
the Pray pig farm is burned down.
And then we saw, well,
let's just say we saw the worst of it.
But that's done now.
Now, we drink.
- Did I hear you say that
pig farm burned down?
That's right.
You know anything about that, Tex?
- No.
Just she probably deserved it, is all.
She dead?
- Excuse me?
I says, "She dead?"
- Would that give you a
personal sense of satisfaction?
They haven't found a body.
Any more questions?
You shouldn't have
paid him without a body,
a finger, her eye, anything.
- I trust Diego got the job done.
- But why?
He doesn't have a personal
stake in any of this
and that woman-
- You gotta stop worrying
about that woman.
The deal is done!
We got bigger things on our hands.
Everything is going smoothly.
You just gotta stay calm
and steady on me, ya hear?
- Long day, friend?
- Ever since I came to this charming town,
it's been nothing but long days.
- You must be Frank's new deputy,
I heard so much about.
- But what about this new deputy you got?
- So, what about him?
I got him chasing Leigh's
tail all over the county,
keeping him busy.
He's harmless.
- Well, does he understand
how you operate?
- Not everyone needs to know everything.
- He is gonna be fat in the fire
if you don't keep a close watch on him!
- What did I just tell you?
I got my eye on him.
By the time he finishes
running those fools' errands,
our business will be settled.
- You are affiliated with
Frank in some fashion?
- I'm a bounty hunter.
Sometimes, I bring him wanted men.
Is that right?
- He is not like the others.
I don't think this one is for sale.
- JM, 20 years ago in a few states over,
he would literally have
been for sale.
You think too much of these
"lesser-thans".
- May I inquire about your
most recent acquisitions?
- No offense, Deputy,
I don't like talking business
if'n I ain't paid to do so.
- Well, I'm simply wondering
if uh... Thomas
Pray may be among them?
Or perhaps you may know a little something
about the disappearance
of his wife, Molly,
and the recent burning of their home?
- Has Leigh checked in with you yet?
- Not yet.
- Fucking drunk.
He's been gone nearly a week.
- So what?
- Frank, I'm saying that
I can see the seams.
I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here.
- Then don't.
- Your attention is split too thin!
And she's missing, is she?
You didn't find this
Molly person in the fire?
Huh.
That is a shame.
- Listen, when this town was nothing more
than 30-some ranchers and prostitutes,
running your bunko act was manageable.
But this?
And running for a Senate seat?
Frank, you have enough power
with the funds you have accumulated.
Just keep the goddamn gold!
- Would you keep your goddamn voice down?
- Frank, I'm saying "Why?"
- You look tired.
Your eyes are weary.
I seen eyes like yours before,
in the war.
- So you have served?
- I did.
- Whereabouts?
- New Mexico. Texas.
Hell, I was at the Battle of Valverde.
- You don't say?
- Unfortunately, my time
in the Army was cut short.
Or fortunately. Depending
on how you look at it.
- Now what does that mean?
My whole company was killed.
Talking to a lone survivor.
- Why?
- I am trying to build something!
- And what is that?
A country.
- The way I see it, Deputy,
it's every man for himself in this world.
You know why we won that
day at Valverde, Deputy?
It wasn't for the war.
Hell, it wasn't for the South.
It was for a drink of water.
See, we was out in that heat for days,
parched of thirst.
And them Yanks?
They was the only thing standing
between us and the Rio Grande.
We killed them boys 'cause we was thirsty.
Nothing more, nothing less.
So tell me,
what'd them weary Yankee
eyes of yours see today?
- There was a stick up
along the countryside.
Couple had been shot, wagon looted.
- I assumed you were
made of stronger stuff.
- Oh no, no, no, no.
No, that wasn't it.
It was what else we found.
- And what was that?
- There was a man who
had been tied to a tree.
His manhood mutilated, shot full of holes
and then his head cut off.
- Molly Pray!
- You told me to let you
know if I found anything.
Eat lead, cocksuckers!
- Help!
Help!
Help me!
- Hey, hey! Get that bitch!
She's making a run for it!
Cut her off on the right!
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
- Thomas!
Am I dead?
No, I-I can't be!
Not yet!
Those men that did this
to you, they have to pay!
I can't rest until...
I can't rest until they're all dead.
They must die.
Speak to me.
Are you still in there?
- What?
Help you?
- What? What does that mean?
- What?
- I...
- Whatever it takes.
Find a body?
- How's JM?
- Alive.
Shorthanded but alive.
- Could have used your help today.
I could have covered more
ground if I had more men.
- If you're referring to these gentlemen,
I need them to get this place
looking back to normal
as soon as possible.
I've got some guests coming
in from the legislature
and if they were to pay me a visit
with things being as they are-
- I was talking about you.
- I have better things to do
than traipse around the countryside
until I trip over some stiff bitch!
- You've got better things to do?
- That's right.
- Several people were killed
in your town last night, Frank.
And you're too busy to
find the woman who did it.
Now, it feels to me that maybe
you don't want her found.
- Oh, really?
- Feels like it.
Well, while
you were out riding around,
we got word from the
Stevens family out out East.
They saw Mrs. Pray making camp
on the edge of their property.
Now, how is that for help?
- Really?
So Buck Stevens rode all the way here
and had time to tell you while I was gone?
- Well, it is a ride. That's true.
All the more reason
you better hurry along.
Now, I believe that she'll be making camp
on the Canyon Pass Road
if she's still out there
that runs through the back
edge of their property,
- I suppose you're too busy to ride along?
- Actually, I thought she'd be more likely
to turn herself into you alone,
if she's still alive, which I doubt.
- Maybe so.
- Good.
Best get steppin'.
Follow him.
And kill him.
- Frank sends his regards!
I'll be damned!
You need to come with
me and turn yourself in.
- To the man who just
tried to have you killed?
- Frank will his due in due time.
For now, you need to do the right thing
and come quietly with me back to Sterling.
- Help me take him down.
- Now I'm serious, now!
You killed a lot of
innocent people last night
and one not-so-innocent Town Marshall.
What's the difference
between you and Frank,
if you're gonna kill innocent people?
- It's different.
- Something definitely is.
What's your plan?
- JM's hiding gold someplace.
I think I know where to look.
- Where?
- Same place he hides all
of Frank's dirty secrets.
Underground.
- Underground!
JM Winter!
- You again?
Get 'em, boys!
Oh, shit!
- Where's that gold going?
- Well, hello, Deputy.
I would ask what you're doing
here with this creature,
but I never trusted you to begin with,
so I can't say I'm surprised.
- We know all about Frank's schemes, JM.
Now, where's that gold going?
Okay.
I'm gonna give you to the count of three.
- Oh, yeah?
You're gonna have me shot, Deputy?
- One.
- I am a respectable citizen.
You are an officer of the law
and I am not resisting.
- Two.
- Be reasonable!
Okay. Okay!
Wait.
You think I wanna be out
here in this cemetery
hauling shit around for
that son of a bitch?
If I quit now, he'll kill me.
- I can protect you.
- You're naive.
- As long as you tell me
where that gold's going,
I give you my word, you will be safe.
- That asshole used me as a human shield
while this one shot my damn hand off.
How am I supposed to earn a living
building with a goddamn hook?
He's sloppy!
He's stupid!
And he doesn't listen
to anything anyone says.
I told him that you shouldn't be trusted.
- You are breaking my heart.
The gold, JM.
- It's going to the Cartwright House.
- George Cartwright's house?
Why?
- There's a big party tonight
for the legislators
that Frank has paid off.
- And you are bringing in the goods?
- That's right.
- Why George's place?
- The Cartwrights wanted to show
their appreciation to Frank
for solving George's murder so promptly.
And Frank just couldn't stop smiling.
He thought it was hysterical.
- JM, you are under arrest.
You can't pr-
- Whoa!
Goddamn it, Molly Pray!
Why?
Why would you do that?
He was giving up.
I gave him my word!
- They all die.
That was the deal.
- Deal?
What deal?
Am I a part of this deal in any capacity
that I should be aware of?
- No.
Ladies and gentlemen,
if I could have your
ears for just a moment.
I would like to say a few words.
Now if I've learned anything
from my time on this earth,
it is that we're all
masters of our own destiny.
- Now when me and thirty others
come to this savage land
trying to make a new home for ourselves,
it was only through American grit,
determination, and spirit
that we were able to transform it
into the truly great place that it is now!
- Here here!
- Yeah!
- And when rustlers and primitives
and other godless people
threatened her in her infancy,
well, we fought back with
that same righteous spirit
and we prevailed!
We sent them back to the dark
corners from which they came!
Because this is our America!
It was ours before we
ever set boots on her.
That's right, sir!
- Yes, she waiting,
just waiting for someone
with a proper grit,
determination and spirit.
And I promise to carry
those same qualities
with me all the way to the Senate!
- Thank you, everyone.
Enjoy yourselves. Thank you.
Thank you.
- There's a proper politician.
- Rousing words, Frank. I mean it.
Next stop? The Senate.
But then who knows?
Well, thank you. You flatter me.
- Yes, that was a very
adequate performance.
But I'm not interested in any
chest beating nationalism,
if there's no money in our coffers.
- No, gentlemen, I can assure you that
that is being handled at this very moment.
It was just a matter
of making a withdrawal
that was delaying things slightly.
But it is en route to this very party.
You see? A man of action
as well as words.
Get out of the damn way!
- Lookin' for this?
- What the fuck you think
you're doing, Turner?
Molly Pray's shootin' the place to shit!
Now gimme my gun, ya son of a bitch!
- You tried to have me killed, Frank.
- What are you gonna do, Turner?
You gonna shoot me?
- Damn bitch!
You killed everybody!
To hell with you and your husband.
You're both trash.
You don't mean anything!
My only regret is I
didn't kill him myself
but that would be beneath me.
Because people like me rule the world.
People like you shovel shit!
I can't move.
I can't move. I can't...
I can't move my body!
I can't...I can't move my body!
I'm paralyzed.
You paralyzed me.
You paralyzed me!
- Where's your bounty hunter?
- Ugh. Just kill me.
Just kill me!
- I will.
I promise.
First you have to tell me where he is.
- Shoot me.
Shoot me!
Shoot me, you goddamn bitch!
- Where is he?
- In a cabin in Firecreek
Valley, south of Sterling City.
Now just...just do it already.
I'm already a dead man.
Just do it!
- Go get us some horses.
- Guess I best get to steppin'.
Come on!
Come on!
Wait!
Wait, wait, wait!
Where you going?
Where you going?
Come back! Shoot me! Come-
No...What are you?...
What is that?!
What are you...?
Have mercy, I-
No. I don't, n-nooo-
- I take it Frank's dead?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
You are persistent.
I'll give you that.
- My life ended the day
you came to my home.
Thought I'd return the gesture.
- I was working well within the law.
But you come here to murder me.
No official documents.
Pretty big difference, I'd say.
But hey,
I was just trying to
survive like everybody else.
Like you, peach.
- Get your guns and
walk your ass out here.
Well, you wanna
settle this like real men, huh?
Mm.
Atta girl.
I knew you wouldn't disappoint.
Very well.
Let's do things your way.
You ready to be reunited
with your husband?
- All outta bullets.