Still Haunted

Chapter 1

When his aide, Salazar, killed Senator Jud Robson, it took some quick thinking and serious talking on Jarrod Barkley's part to keep the man from spinning a completely false yarn out of it. Robson had been seeing ghosts, threats to his well-being that didn't exist, and Jarrod was the first to acknowledge it. That made him a threat in Robson's eyes, and it was only by Salazar's interference that Robson did not kill Jarrod in the belief that Jarrod was part of a conspiracy to kill him.

Salazar knew the Senator had come apart, that he was mentally unstable and had been for quite some time, but when he killed Robson, he wanted to keep the "legend" alive. He wanted to claim Robson's unreal enemies had killed him. Jarrod refused to go along with it, and at first it seemed Jarrod had talked Salazar into telling the truth. But something happened when they rode into Stockton with Robson's body tied across his horse. People came running, looking, and someone yelled, "He was right! They were out to kill him! They killed him!"

The hallucination spread like wildfire. Jarrod and Salazar said nothing at first, Jarrod believing that as soon as they told the sheriff the truth, it would all be cleared up. But Salazar heard what the people were saying. Robson had been killed by a conspiracy of his enemies. By the time Jarrod and Salazar got into the sheriff's office, Salazar had changed his story. "I never saw who shot him, Sheriff," Salazar said. "Someone in hiding, someone who had followed him or suspected he'd be out there with Mr. Barkley."

"Wait a minute," Jarrod said quickly. "That's not what happened at all, Sheriff."

Now the sheriff looked completely confused. Here were two important, trustworthy men with two different stories about how a United States Senator had died, right here in this sheriff's jurisdiction. This was the last thing he needed. "If it's not the truth, Jarrod, why don't you tell me what is."

"I was on my way here to see the district attorney and have him subpoena Senator Robson to appear at the inquest, rather than call it off so the Senator could return to Washington," Jarrod said. "Steve, the Senator has not been a well man."

"That's a lie!" Salazar broke in.

Jarrod glared at him. "It's the truth. Senator Robson has been seeing conspiracies where none exist. He killed an unarmed man because he saw a gun that did not exist. And when I left for town, he saw me as a threat. He saw me as part of whatever conspiracies his mind had conjured up. Salazar killed him because he was about to kill me, and as you can see, I'm unarmed."

The sheriff looked at Salazar. "Is this true?"

Salazar did not even look nervous. "I don't know whether Mr. Barkley is really a part of any conspiracy or not, but someone under cover somewhere shot and killed Senator Robson not half an hour ago. I did not kill him."

"Salazar, that's a lie!" Jarrod pounded the desk.

Salazar backed up as the sheriff held Jarrod back. "All right, all right," the Sheriff said. "Looks like we'll be having a different inquest than we planned. I want both of you to go over to the district attorney's office with me while we set this up."

"I need to return to Washington right away," Salazar said.

"No, you don't," the sheriff said. "If you want your version of this story told, you'll need to stick around for an inquest. Otherwise, you may find yourself in jail on a murder and perjury charge."

Salazar looked uncomfortable now, but he had sunk himself in up to his knees and had to stick with the lie.

"Come on," the sheriff said and herded Jarrod and Salazar out the door in front of him.

People were still gathered and talking loudly when they came out. The sheriff yelled at a particular man to take Robson to the undertaker while he kept Jarrod and Salazar in front of him. The crowd followed them down the street to the district attorney's office.

Jarrod heard more than one person yell, "Did Barkley kill the Senator?"

Jarrod glared at Salazar, and as soon as they were in the courthouse and away from the crowd, Jarrod confronted him. "If you let this lie continue to get out of hand, I'll see you in a court of law for slander."

"All right, all right," the sheriff said and pulled Jarrod away. "If it is a lie and he doesn't straighten it out, he'll be in jail, Jarrod. You'll have to wait your turn. Come on."

They kept on going to the district attorney's office. The DA heard them out, looked them over. Salazar repeated his story – someone unknown and under cover killed the Senator. Jarrod repeated that it was Salazar who killed him, because the Senator was about to kill Jarrod.

"Well, now, this is one can of worms," the DA said. "You got thirty seconds. Do either of you want to change your story?"

"No," Jarrod said flatly and right away.

Salazar also said, "No," just as confidently.

"All right," the DA said. "We'll set an inquest for tomorrow. Mr. Salazar, if you were planning to go back to Washington, don't do it. Jarrod, don't you go anywhere either. Sheriff, I'll let you question each of them further at your convenience but do it today and do it separately."

Salazar asked to be questioned first, and Jarrod did not mind all that much. It would give him the last word. He went to his office to wait things out and to send a runner with a message back to the ranch to explain what had happened and was happening. After he did, he paced, looking out of his window, watching the people still gathered in the street – watching him. He thought he knew these people, but now, suddenly, the eyes looking his way were full of mistrust. Salazar's story was taking hold. Robson's hallucination was turning into the truth. People were starting to believe that Jarrod was complicit in the Senator's murder. They didn't know why, but they were believing it.

The sheriff came to Jarrod's office about half an hour later. As soon as Jarrod invited him in, Jarrod said, "Steve, Salazar's story is a complete fiction. He's trying to cover up the truth to keep a dead man's image alive. I had nothing to do with Robson's killing, and neither did anyone else. It was Salazar, shooting him to save my life. I saw him."

"Calm down, Jarrod," the sheriff said.

"Did he change his story?"

"No, he's sticking with it," the Sheriff said. "And when I asked him if he thought you were part of the conspiracy to kill the Senator, he said he didn't know."

"My God, Steve, that's a bald-faced lie! He knows good and well there's no conspiracy for me to be a part of! He told me flat out that Robson has been coming apart and disintegrating in front of his eyes for a long time!"

"He's not saying that now."

"Only because there's a mob out there who wants to believe the lie!"

"Jarrod," the sheriff said calmly, "you know as well as I do that when people want to believe the lie and you insist on telling them the truth, they'll destroy you."

"They'll destroy me even if I go along with the lie! They're sizing me up for a rope already!" Jarrod blurted out.

"Between me and you, I'll take your word over Salazar's any day, and I'll say so to anybody who asks, but in the meantime, you best go home and stay there. Because you're right. Those people out there want the lie, not the truth, and they will destroy you one way or another rather than admit to swallowing a lie."

Jarrod growled, looking out the window again. Fists were starting to shake at him now.

"Have you sent word to your family about what's happened?" the Sheriff asked.

"Yes," Jarrod said. "Only a little while ago. Steve, I'd rather head out of here and keep my family from coming into town right now. Can you give me an escort?"

"I'll take you myself," the sheriff said. "Let's go."

They went outside, and the sheriff immediately had to begin yelling at people to break up and go home. Jarrod headed straight for his horse, hitched in front of the sheriff's office next to the sheriff's. "Where's Salazar?" he asked as they walked.

"In the hotel," the Sheriff said.

Somebody went to grab Jarrod. Jarrod pushed him off and readied himself for whoever was coming next.

The sheriff pushed the man away, saying, "I'll arrest the next man who tries something like that! I'm taking Mr. Barkley home and I'll make sure he gets there and stays there! The rest of you go on about your business!"

Jarrod and the sheriff mounted up, but Jarrod eyed everyone who was eyeing him. No one was leaving. They watched Jarrod and the sheriff ride out of town, and Jarrod knew not a person in that crowd believed anything but the lie they wanted to believe.