The Killing Ground — E. Jefferson Clay

He was a dead man walking.He staggered into the hotel lobby with a knife sticking out of one ear, and when he hit the floor the blade finally penetrated his brain and finished him off once and for all.Unfortunately, there was no shortage of suspects. A lot of men had reason to hate Harvey Yardigan. But then a witness came forward to say that the murder had been committed by none other than Duke Benedict.Benedict and his partner, Hank Brazos, were in the town of Mirage on secret business. Midwest Territory was a hotbed of crime, murder and rustling. Things were so bad that folks had started calling it “The Killing Ground” instead. The fancy gambler and his big cowboy friend were sent in to clean the territory up … but it seemed that someone else was already onto them – and would stop at nothing to make sure they failed in their mission!