Mr. Martin Willingham

Jimmy and Lou were just heading out of the bank that very moment when Martin Willingham, the owner, spotted them on the street.
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Martin Willingham became owner of the Sweetwater Bank two years ago.He was a man of about forty, very well dressed, and he hailed from a wealthy family back East though he'd managed to make it quite well living out West.In addition to the bank, he also owned and operated a big cattle spread just outside of town.In fact, his property bordered on the PXP Ranch.At one point, he had been eager to offer Lou a bundle of money to buy up her property.Then he began making other kinds of offers, only to be flatly refused.

After a few moments of silence, Willingham finally decided to say something to Jimmy, who stood clasping Lou's hand and studying the banker suspiciously.
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"Actually, Mr. Willingham, this is Jimmy.
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"Good day to you, too," Mr. Willingham sneered quietly to himself once Lou and Jimmy were well out of earshot.
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Ever since his arrival, Martin had made efforts to win over Louise and gain her affections, as many other local men had also tried to do, but it was to no avail.
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Willingham wanted her, but he wanted her land even more.

Over time, Willingham kept increasing the number of cattle on his ranch at alarming rates, thereby increasing the size of his pocketbook as well.However, he also found that, by doing so, his natural resources were rapidly becoming more and more depleted.Still, he would not cut back operations.He had other plans instead ... plans which would allow further expansion of his growing empire.

The land to the north of him was still rich and full of the moist grass that his cattle desperately needed for grazing.
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Willingham removed his hat and wiped the perspiration that had formed on his brow with a white handkerchief.He looked up at the sky, squinting from the brightness of the sun.It was going to be a long, hot, dry summer.And he knew that if his cattle and his business were going to thrive, they were going to need more grass and water.

He had tried all the usual tactics to win over the lovely, yet feisty, Louise McCloud and had failed miserably.Failure was something Martin Willingham was not used to.He would not tolerate anything but success, and he would do everything in his power to insure that he would indeed get what he wanted.He had a few more tricks up his sleeve.After all, he knew that he hadn't gotten to where he was today if he didn't know how to bend things to his will.He had come out West, started a profitable cattle business, made a name for himself apart from his family.He even took over the town's bank when it ran into some financial trouble a while back, making his advantage and position within Sweetwater even greater.And he was slowly eating up the land all around him, until there was only one last -- and very beautiful -- barrier remaining.
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With that last thought, Martin Willingham turned away and headed for his bank.
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A loud knock on his door brought Martin Willingham out of a state of sleep and into a sense of brutal awareness.He wondered who in the world could be calling on him at a time like this.It was barely six-thirty in the morning, according to the pocket watch that sat on his bed stand, and the bank did not open until eight o'clock.

He stumbled across the floor, grabbing his dressing robe as he made his way to the door of his room above the bank.
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Martin squeezed his eyes shut and held his hand up to block the blinding rays.When the sunspots on his eyes began to vanish, he saw the stony, determined face of Louise McCloud.

"Louise," he said, not bothering with the propriety of using her full name, "what a pleasure it is to see you this fine morning."
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"Cut the small talk, Willingham," she told him flatly."You know why I'm here."

He nodded and simply smiled that wily smile of his.Sure, he knew why Louise was there to see him.He had expected she would come by to pay him a call sooner or later, knowing that the woman did not back down so easily ... not when her ranch was at stake.Not without a fight, he thought.His grin broadened at the prospect.

"I suspect you're here to discuss our little loan," Willingham said redundantly.
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Martin threw his head back in laughter for a moment before returning his now-hardened gaze to her."Alright, Louise.We'll talk."He began approaching her slowly, that look in his eye.
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Martin Willingham looked unaffected by her remark.Then he put on that evil grin and laughed."Oh, yes.That's right.You got married to that ranch hand of yours.How romantic," he sneered at her with hateful sarcasm.
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This act only further enraged Willingham.He let go of her right arm and backhanded her in the face with his left hand, seething with anger all the while.
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"Don't make another move, Willingham," she told him fiercely, moving him further away from her as she led them to the middle of the room.He had no choice but to comply."Or I'll fill ya so full of holes your own mother won't even be able to recognize your dead body when I'm done."

Initially, Willingham barely flinched, believing that Lou was only bluffing.
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Martin saw the woman's resolve slowly slipping away, and he sensed that maybe he had a way out of this after all.He kept staring at Lou until she began to melt more and more under the heat of his wicked gaze.He could feel that the pressure of the gun prodding into his neck was easing up slightly, and he knew he had Louise right where he wanted her.

"You don't have it in you, little lady," he sneered at her defiantly.

In a sudden flash of sunlight and splintering wood, the door of the room was busted wide open.Martin Willingham's head whipped around towards the source of the disturbance, but he was blinded by the light glinting off of shining silver.
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The berry-colored imprint of where Willingham had slapped her was growing darker and more pronounced by the minute, and looking at it only made Jimmy's ire grow as well.He wished now that he had killed the wretched man when he'd had the chance.

"Uh, Marshal?"Willingham spoke at last.
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"I wouldn't press my luck, Willingham."

Duncan would have liked nothing more than to throw the man behind bars and toss away the key.He knew the reputation that the banker was building in town.He knew that several families had already lost their homesteads because they owed him money, and he felt sympathetic for Lou and Jimmy.However, the marshal simply did not have the means or the justification to imprison Martin Willingham, not yet anyway, because he was too good at keeping all of his activity looking legal on the outside.So instead, he got a simple slap on the wrist and could go back to his business of slowly putting all the ranchers, farmers, and shop owners around Sweetwater deeper into debt ... so he could then eat them alive and take away all they've worked for.