"The people of the state of Texas vs. Vincent Tanner, the Honorable Judge Daniel O'Malley presiding. All rise," ordered the bailiff.
Judge O'Malley sat down and banged his gavel. "Be seated. Is everyone ready? The prosecution may open their case."
Phil Carroll, the prosecutor, rose. "Your Honor, gentlemen of the jury, I intend to prove that the accused is a foul and cowardly murderer."
Vin stirred. Josiah, sitting beside him, laid his hand on Vin's arm to keep him calm and quiet. Behind him, Chris Larabee reached up and touched Vin's shoulder.
"He killed Jesse Kincaid, then ran. I intend to prove that, and then, gentlemen of the jury, I hope to see him swing." Carroll sat down.
Josiah rose. "A coward," he repeated. "A coward… Brethren, would a coward come to Texas of his own free will and turn himself in? Vin Tanner's a good man. He could've stayed where he was, just tried to avoid Tascosa, but he came back here to clear his name. Solomon said: 'Be assured, an evil man will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will be delivered.' Vin is trusting in you to deliver him from this false accusation that's hung above him far too long."
"Swear in the first witness," the judge directed. The bailiff did so.
"State your name for the court, please," Carroll ordered, "and then tell us what you know about Mr. Tanner."
"Hosea Kincaid. That low-down, no account bounty hunter killed my brother. Then he tried to pass Jess off as somebody else."
"I know it's a painful memory, but can you tell the court what happened?"
"Ain't likely to forget. That Tanner, he rode into town, bold as brass. Said he'd got Eli Joe. But it was my brother's body he had tied to his horse. When he found out he'd killed an innocent man, he lied and said he'd found the body."
"And what happened after that, Mr. Kincaid?"
"The coward broke out of jail and ran," Hosea Kincaid testified.
"He's lying," Vin whispered. "He was at the head of the lynch mob."
"And are you sure that the accused is the man who killed your brother?" Carroll asked. "Look at him. Be sure."
"That's him."
"No further questions, Your Honor."
"Mr. Sanchez," the judge invited Josiah to cross-examine the witness.
"Mr. Kincaid, I am truly sorry for your loss. It's a hard thing to bury a brother," Josiah began. "However, I have trouble believing that Vin Tanner killed him, so you're gonna have to convince me."
"You calling me a liar?" Hosea demanded.
"The Good Book says 'A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.' I'll remind you only once that you've taken Bible-oath to tell the truth. Now, how did you know that Vin Tanner killed your brother? You didn't see him do it, did you?"
Hosea shook his head.
"So how did you find out he was the one?"
"The sheriff said so."
Josiah turned to face Sheriff Harvey. "Him?"
"No, not Ted Harvey. The old sheriff, Alec Fleming."
"Does Sheriff Fleming still live in town?" the ex-preacher asked.
Hosea scoffed at his ignorance. "He died a year ago."
"So you're telling us what a man who can't speak for himself said." Josiah looked up at O'Malley. "Isn't that what they call hearsay?"
Judge O'Malley nodded.
"So just what is it that Sheriff Fleming said?" Josiah continued.
"That Tanner dragged Jesse's body into town and claimed he'd got Eli Joe. And then when he found out 'twas Jess, he lied and said he'd just found the body lying there."
"And that's what Sheriff Fleming said, or at least, what you say that Fleming said?" Josiah asked. "Are you sure that Vin claimed to have killed your brother?"
"Course I'm sure."
Josiah just nodded with the attitude of someone humoring someone else. "And you said Vin broke out of jail?"
"That's right."
"And you had nothing to do with him getting out?" Josiah asked the man.
"Huh?"
"You didn't lead a lynch mob to break Vin out of jail and then try to kill him?" Josiah continued.
Hosea turned red. He sputtered, but said nothing.
"Didn't you trust the court? Or were you so eager for revenge that you didn't care who swung for your brother's death, so long as someone swung?"
"I ain't the one on trial here," Hosea protested.
"No further questions for this witness, Your Honor." Hosea started down from the witness box and Josiah added, "At this time."
"How did you catch Vin Tanner?" Carroll asked the sheriff.
"Didn't catch him; he turned himself in," Sheriff Ted Harvey replied.
The prosecutor frowned. Blood and guts made for a better trial than a man turning himself into the law voluntarily. "And what lies did he tell you when he showed up with his tail between his legs?"
"Objection." Josiah said. "You don't assume a man's lying unless you know him well enough to know whether he's honest or a liar. And anybody who says Vin Tanner went anywhere with his tail between his legs obviously don't know him at all."
"Sustained. The prosecution will refrain from slanderous opinions," the judge directed.
"Very well, what did Mr. Tanner say?" Carroll rephrased his question.
"He said he was wanted for killing Jess Kincaid, but he hadn't done it, and that he wanted to turn himself in," Sheriff Harvey explained.
"And did that match your memory of what happened when Jess Kincaid was killed?"
"No, sir, it didn't."
"And in your experience as a lawman, do innocent men usually turn themselves in for crimes they haven't committed?"
"No, sir."
"Your witness, Mr. Sanchez," Carroll invited.
"'A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is a betrayer,'" Josiah began. "I'm sure that you, Sheriff Harvey, will be a truthful witness. You weren't sheriff when Kincaid was killed. Were you here in Tascosa at the time?"
"I was Fleming's deputy then, but I was in Austin when Kincaid got killed," Harvey explained.
Josiah bit his lip and hesitated a moment. "You said that Vin telling you he hadn't killed Kincaid, but wanting to turn himself in and clear his name didn't match your memory of what happened then. If you were in Austin at the time, how could you remember what happened here?"
"Heard all about it when I got back of course. The whole town couldn't talk of nothing else for weeks," Harvey replied.
"My experience has been, the more folk talk about something, the more different versions a story grows. Keeping in mind it's probably hearsay, and may not be admissible," the defrocked priest hedged his bets, "do you remember Alec Fleming saying that Vin said he killed Jess Kincaid? Or did Fleming tell you that Vin said he found the body? Not what the rest of the town was saying, what Sheriff Fleming said."
Harvey thought a moment, trying to remember who'd said what three years ago. "Alec said this feller claimed to have found the body, but that don't mean he was telling the truth. He could've lied to Alec. A man who hunts down other men for the price on their heads ain't necessarily gonna worry about the truth when there's money involved."
"Vin could've lied," Josiah allowed. "I doubt it, but I s'pose it's not impossible. No further questions, Your Honor."
Carroll called three reputable citizens to the stand. Each swore that Vin Tanner had killed Jess Kincaid. Each denied reluctantly, shame-faced, that a lynch mob had attempted to kill Vin the last time he was in Tascosa.
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"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" asked the bailiff.
"I do." Bronco sat down next to the judge. "Most of you know me. I'm Bronco Layne; I work over at the Gilliland spread. I was in Montana when Jess Kincaid died, so I can't say much as to his death. But I can tell you that Vin Tanner didn't murder him. I served with Vin in the war, and a better man you'd have a hard time finding."
"The war was a long time ago, Mr. Layne," the prosecutor, Phil Carroll, reminded him. "People can change in that many years."
Bronco shook his head. "The only dishonest thing Vin Tanner ever did in his life was lying about his age so he could enlist."
A few of the jury laughed.
"Vin wouldn't shoot anyone in cold blood. In battle, or in self-defense, yes, but never in cold blood," Bronco said. "He's no murderer."
"That's your opinion, Mr. Layne," Carroll pointed out.
"Yes, it is. But most of you know me, and you know I'm a pretty fair judge of character."
The audience started murmuring amongst themselves, for most of them did know and trust Bronco Layne.
"Mr. Sanchez?" the judge invited Josiah to cross-examine the witness.
"No questions, Your Honor. I think Mr. Layne's said everything that needs saying."
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"Would you mind telling the court who you are, and how you know Vin Tanner?" Josiah asked, once the next witness had been sworn in.
"Chris Larabee. I met Vin about a year ago, when he stopped an innocent man from being lynched. Been friends ever since."
"What kind of a man would you say Vin Tanner is?"
"A good 'un," Larabee replied without hesitation. "I've never known him to lie or cheat. I've trusted him with my life more than once."
"Would you say he's a killer?" Josiah asked.
"He's killed men," Larabee acknowledged. "But never in cold blood. Always in self-defense, or protecting someone else. Vin's not a murderer. He said he didn't kill Jess Kincaid, and I believe him."
"Thank you." Josiah couldn't think of anything else to ask Larabee, so he nodded at Carroll, indicating it was now his turn.
"Mr. Larabee, it's mighty nice of you to come all the way from Arizona to Texas just to act as a character witness for your friend," Carroll began.
Larabee kept a poker face Ezra Standish would've been proud of, but inside, he was frowning. Having the prosecutor compliment him just didn't feel right.
"Of course, I'm not sure how much credence the honest citizens of Tascosa will put into the word of a hired gunman, speaking as to the honesty and reliability of a bounty hunter," Carroll continued.
Larabee said nothing.
"Do you deny you're a hired gun?" Carroll dared him.
"Ain't denying nothing. 'Till now, you hadn't asked a question." A few of the spectators chuckled and the blond continued, "Used to be a hired gun… Used to be a schoolmaster, too, and a soldier before that. Used to have a little spread where I raised horses. I've done a lot of things in my life."
Vin whispered to Josiah, "Chris used to be a schoolmaster?"
Josiah shrugged and whispered back, "He never mentioned it to me."
"But you were a hired gun," Carroll persisted.
Larabee nodded. "Used to be."
Carroll turned to face the jury. "One cold-blooded killer for hire vouching for another. Given their backgrounds, gentlemen, can you trust either one of them?"
"I had to come," Larabee interrupted. "I'm the reason Vin can't clear his name." That statement caught the entire courtroom by surprise. The situation was too serious for him to risk smiling, but he was pleased with himself for stealing Carroll's thunder. "Vin's been looking for Eli Joe for a while, since he was the only one who could clear his name. Found him a few months ago. He tried to kill Vin, and I had to shoot him to save Vin's life."
"So we have Tanner's claiming that Eli Joe shot Jess Kincaid and now you claim you shot this Eli Joe. And my worthy opponent complained of my witnesses relying on hearsay testimony. How do we even know this Eli Joe even existed, other than in Mr. Tanner's imagination?" the prosecutor asked.
Sheriff Harvey coughed. Carroll turned around. "Um, Eli Joe was real. Murderer, bandit… hunted for him myself."
Carroll frowned at the interruption.
"You can check with the sheriff of Winstead. We shipped the body there," Larabee said. "Eli Joe could've cleared Vin, but he's dead. And," he added in an icy tone, "I don't cotton to anyone implying I'm a liar."
Chris Larabee's reputation preceded him. Carroll looked nervous.
Judge O'Malley pulled out his pocket watch. "It is now ten minutes before noon. This court is adjourned for lunch. We will reconvene at two o'clock." He banged his gavel on the desk.
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The door to the sheriff's office opened. Larabee looked up, expecting Buck and Josiah with lunch. Judge Orin Travis stepped inside.
"What are you doing here?" Larabee demanded.
"JD can't lie worth a damn," the judge replied.
Larabee nodded, needing no further explanation.
"Well, Mr. Tanner, I wondered when you would get around to turning yourself in and trying to clear your name," Judge Travis said.
"Y' mean y' knew?" Vin asked, sitting inside the cell.
The gray-haired man nodded.
The bounty hunter shook his head. "Guess I should've known I couldn't hide nuthin' from y', Judge."
Travis smiled. "Guess you should have." He glanced around the jail cell where Vin was held. "They treating you all right, Mr. Tanner?"
"Yes, sir, they have."
"I understand Josiah Sanchez has been acting as your attorney. Would you have any objection to my assisting him?"
Blue eyes looked up at the judge, amazed. "You'd do that fer me?"
"I'm a little hurt you didn't ask," replied the judge. "Now then, suppose you bring me up to date on the particulars of the case. Tell me all the details of what happened a few years ago, and then tell me what's happened in court so far…."