Dunnigans
Chapter 1
It had been a long ride for Nick and Heath from Sunflower, and having the Dunnigan brothers in their care did not make it an easier ride. The marshal from Sunflower saw them to the border of California, where Sheriff Madden met them and took them back to Stockton. The Dunnigans hadn't given them any trouble, hardly even speaking. That was not unusual for Mark Dunnigan, but even Davy, who could rarely be quiet, was virtually silent. The Barkley brothers just hated the creepy feeling the silence gave them.
And it didn't help that the sheriff was oddly silent, too.
It wasn't until the sheriff had the Dunnigans safely locked away in his jail and he closed the cell block door that the sheriff finally told Nick and Heath about his big concern in this. "Sit down," he said, looking somber.
Nick and Heath looked almost panic stricken. When they left, Jarrod was barely conscious, but the doctor had told everybody he would recover from the bullet in the back one of the Dunnigan brothers had given him. But now –
"Jarrod?" Nick asked.
"No, no," the sheriff said quickly. "He's doing fine. But there is a problem."
"What?" Heath asked.
"He's the only witness we have to this, and I talked to him yesterday about what he saw. He only saw Davy Dunnigan, and he never saw Davy shoot either him or Sam. He never saw who killed Monty, and he never saw Mark Dunnigan at all."
"Well, wherever you have Davy, you have Mark," Nick said.
"That may not be good enough for the law – may not even be good enough for me to keep Mark in jail. Fact is, two men are dead and your brother is seriously wounded, but the only man he can place at the depot that night is Davy Dunnigan."
"Meaning you might have to turn Mark loose," Heath said.
The sheriff nodded. "They'll get a preliminary hearing in the morning, and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to keep Davy but I doubt I'll be able to keep Mark."
Nick rolled his eyes. "Does Jarrod know this?"
"I didn't talk too much to him about it – he was still pretty weak – but with that lawyer mind of his, I'm sure he figured it out."
"So we might have done all this for nothing."
"I wouldn't say for nothing, but it's not as cut and dried as I'd like."
"Well," Heath said, "let's go home, talk to Jarrod, see what he has to say about it."
"Thanks for bringing them in," Sheriff Madden said.
Nick and Heath nodded, then rode on home, almost in silence. The sun was going down as they came in the front door. Their mother and sister had been in the kitchen but heard them arrive and met them in the foyer.
"Thank goodness you're home!" Victoria said. "You've taken them to the jail?"
"They're locked up," Heath said and kissed his mother's cheek, trying not to get trail dust on her.
"How's Jarrod?" Nick asked.
"Still in bed, but much better than when you left," Victoria said.
"He asked to see you as soon as you got home," Audra said.
Nick nodded. "I think we better clean up first. Come on, Heath, I'll meet you in his room."
It was Nick who knocked softly on Jarrod's door first and let himself in. It was beginning to get dark now, but someone had lit a lamp on the night table. Nick drew closer quietly. Jarrod seemed to be asleep, eyes closed. He looked awfully pale, even with a growth of beard that was several days old, but maybe that was the light.
"Hey, Pappy," Nick said softly. When Jarrod didn't stir, Nick shook his arm a little. "Jarrod – you awake?"
Jarrod's eyes opened. He smiled. "You're back."
Nick nodded and sat down in the chair beside the bed. "How you feeling?"
"Been better," Jarrod said, closing his eyes again while he took a deep breath. "Did you bring the Dunnigans back?"
"They're in Fred's jail," Nick said.
Hearing their voices, Heath came in and stood behind Nick.
Jarrod opened his eyes again. "Hi, Heath. I need to talk to you boys about the Dunnigans."
"We're listening," Nick said.
Jarrod tried for another deep breath, but they could tell it hurt. Still, he said, "I spoke with Fred. We have a problem because I only saw Davy Dunningan in the depot, not Mark, and I didn't see who shot me or Sam or who hit Monty. What I saw will probably hold Davy over for trial, but not Mark."
"We'll find some other way to keep him," Nick said.
Jarrod shook his head. "Not likely if he doesn't do something else that will let us. I've been thinking about what he might do now, if he's released and Davy isn't."
"You think he might try to break Davy out?" Heath asked.
"Maybe, but it's not likely," Jarrod said. His speaking was beginning to slow down. "It would be awfully hard for him to do by himself, and there would be a posse after them fast. It's pretty risky."
"Maybe he'll just leave – get while the getting's good," Nick said.
"Also maybe," Jarrod said, "but the minute he does, Davy might turn on him and confess that Mark was with him at the depot."
"That wouldn't get Davy anything," Heath said.
Jarrod smiled. "It wouldn't hurt him more than I could, and it would get him satisfaction. He might even be able to trade it for a deal on the charges on him, might blame everything on Mark. Davy isn't going to think much of sitting in jail alone while Mark is off running free. No, I'm afraid there's another option Mark might take."
"What's that?" Nick asked.
Jarrod smiled. "Get rid of the witness."
Nick and Heath looked at each other.
"That would be tough for him to do with me laid up here in bed," Jarrod said, "but I'm worried he might try and Mother and Audra will get caught in the middle or he might try to take them for leverage. I've already put a guard on them full time. You two need to be careful while you're out there, too. Mark could try to get any one of you to get to me."
"When do you expect he'll be cut loose?" Heath asked.
"Preliminary hearing ought to be tomorrow. They'll hold Davy over for trial and release Mark. Anything could happen after that."
Jarrod closed his eyes and grew quiet. Nick and Heath looked at each other. Nick touched Jarrod's arm. "Jarrod?"
Jarrod stirred again. "Sorry. Drugs. The doctor said he'd start weaning me off the painkillers tomorrow."
"Anything else you want us to know?"
"Just be careful. Guards for Mother and Audra and the house. Expect Mark to turn up where we don't want him. Sorry I didn't see him, even though I'd bet anything he was the one who shot me."
Jarrod drifted off again. They left him alone this time, leaving as quietly as they could. Once they got into the hall and closed the door, they stopped and looked at each other.
Nick said, "If Jarrod's right and he's a target for Mark, we're gonna have to be extra careful. You've seen how mean and determined Mark can be."
Heath said, "I think we ought to talk to all the hands first thing in the morning, make sure they know what Mark looks like so they know who to look for."
Nick nodded. "I'll have the yard patrolled all day and all night."
"Jarrod's likely to be up and around before the trial starts."
"I expect so. But he'll have a guard if he leaves the house, that's for sure. Even if he can only put Davy away, that's a start."
"In a way, I wish Mark would just up and leave."
"Davy might talk and we'd be after Mark again."
"I'd rather have that then Mark trying for Jarrod, or worse yet taking Mother or Audra."
Nick shook his head. "I think it's just Jarrod he'll be after, and he'll try to do it without anybody seeing him, but Mother and Audra will have guards all the time they're out of the house."
They headed on downstairs together, to find their mother and sister were at the bottom of the staircase and had heard everything they said. When they reached the bottom, they just stood there.
Victoria gave them a hard stare. Nick gave it back. "We don't have any choice but to get a good, solid guard posted," Nick said. "Jarrod's right. Mark will be after him, and it's gonna be quite a while before he's able to defend himself."
Victoria nodded. "We'll cooperate, of course. But you two better be part of the plan, too. Mark could take any one of us to get to Jarrod."
"Unlikely Mother, but agreed, we need the guards," Nick said.
Victoria turned. "For now, Mark is in jail, and dinner will be ready in about half an hour. Let's enjoy each other's company again."