Chapter 4

After he got breakfast on the table, Silas came up to sit with Darby, who had gone back to sleep. Jarrod went down to breakfast, the last to sit down at the table, saying, "Our guest woke up for a little while."

"Thank goodness," Victoria said. "What did he have to say?"

"Not too much," Jarrod said. "It seems his beloved mother has passed away and he came out here to see us, her cousins. And to win away some of our neighbors' money playing poker. It seems Mr. Darby is a professional gambler."

"That might explain why he's in trouble for fraud," Nick said.

"But it doesn't explain murder," Heath said. "Did he have anything to say about that?"

"Only that he left Kansas 'without a stain on his reputation,'" Jarrod said. "I told him he picked up a stain somewhere."

"What do you think?" Victoria asked. "Is he being honest about that?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "He sounds convincing enough, but then a good con man would, and if Mr. Darby is guilty of fraud, then a good con man he would be."

Audra shook her head. "He might not be a con man." Everyone looked at her suspiciously. Audra was prone to be forgiving, even before forgiveness was earned. She noticed their skepticism. She said, "But we're going to have to be very careful around him in case he is."

"Indeed we are," Jarrod said, "aside from the fact that some bounty hunter is trying to kill him. I wonder why the bounty hunter didn't just pick him up out of the road after he shot him."

"Probably heard us coming," Nick said.

"Did you hear a shot?"

"No, actually, we didn't," Nick said.

Heath said, "We don't know how long it was or how far he rode after he was shot. There might not have been anything for us to hear."

"Which makes all of this even a little more unsettling," Nick added.

"Well, I'll add something to unsettle everyone even more than that," Jarrod said. "Something Mr. Darby pointed out. Whoever said the shooter was shooting at him?"

Everyone looked puzzled, but Heath said, "Maybe the shooter thought he was shooting you."

Jarrod nodded.

The realization, and the worry, went right around the table. Victoria said, "I think someone should go into town with you, Jarrod."

"I'll ride along," Nick said. "I need to go to the bank anyway."

"And who will escort me home?" Jarrod asked. "I really can't go riding around with a guard all the time on the off-chance that it wasn't a bounty hunter after Darby but someone after me."

"Have you had any threats lately?" Nick asked.

"Not a one," Jarrod said.

"Nobody said a shooter has to make a threat before he shoots," Heath said. "And nobody said a bounty hunter had to verify he was shooting Darby and not you before he fired the gun."

"All right, I'll take a guard for a couple days," Jarrod said, realizing that Heath was right.

"I'll send somebody to get to your office at about four," Nick said.

Jarrod nodded. "We have a plan."

XXXXXXX

Later that morning, the sheriff came into Jarrod's office, carrying a telegram, breathing a big sigh as he said, "Well, the poster from Kansas is legitimate, but it's been withdrawn. Darby's not wanted anymore."

The sheriff gave Jarrod the telegram, and Jarrod read it. "It doesn't say why."

"No. I'll wire back and ask for something explaining everything. But when your cousin recovers, he's free to go. Except, of course, there still exists a problem."

Jarrod nodded. "Once these things are out there, it takes a while for the bounty hunters to catch up if they're withdrawn. And Jack brought up another aspect to this I hadn't thought about. What if someone shot him thinking he was me?"

Sheriff Madden stood up straight, surprised. "I hadn't thought about that either. Have you gotten any threats lately?"

"No," Jarrod said. "And nobody's warned me about somebody being released from prison who might be after me either. But, of course, men with an axe to grind don't always advertise the fact."

"Have you heard from Pinkerton about Darby yet?"

"No, but I figure it will take them a few days anyway."

"How long is this Darby going to be laid up?"

"Ten days to two weeks, I'd say," Jarrod said, "but the doctor didn't say much yesterday other than to keep him in bed."

"Maybe we'll be able to straighten this all out by the time he's up and around. At least the bounty hunters might have gotten the word there's no bounty to collect and they'll leave you alone."

"You mean him."

"I mean both of you. You're interchangeable, remember? He could be shot for you, or you could be shot for him, or either one of you could be shot for your own self."

Jarrod frowned. "Maybe the thing to do is tell him 'thanks for the visit' and get him out of here as soon as he's able to travel. He'd like San Francisco."

"Remember who he is, Jarrod. Wanted or not, he's a con man. Do you want him out of your sight in San Francisco, impersonating you?"

Jarrod moaned, got up, and started pacing. "This is turning out to be more complicated that I thought when I got my first look at him."

"Did he tell you what he does for a living?"

"He's a gambler." Jarrod said that as if he had little or no respect for the profession, because he had next to none.

"Did he say why he came out here?"

"Oh, his mother died and he wanted to visit her relatives and he wanted to visit California and 'win some of our fair money,' as he put it."

"He didn't say anything about winning that money honestly, did he?"

"No, and frankly, now that I really think about it, I didn't get a great sense of honesty about him, the little bit we talked. It was like talking to myself if I had turned into a rogue and not a lawyer. So I guess between his profession and how my gut feels, we do have reason to think we don't need him around."

"I'd definitely keep an eye on him, as best you can. Then as soon as you can I'd send him on his way with some pretty stern warnings about all the friends you have in the law enforcement business."

Jarrod nodded, resignedly. "In the meantime, Fred, I'd appreciate it if you keep your eyes and ears open about anybody who might be after me. Darby had a point."

"I agree," the sheriff said, and he started to leave but turned back. "You be sure to let me know when you cut Darby loose. I can't keep him from plying his trade, but I can keep an eye on him if he tries it in Stockton."

Jarrod gave him a nod.

XXXXXXX

Darby was awake and feeling more like himself again, even if weak from his ordeal. He managed to entertain himself with a book Audra brought him, although he had to perch it on his stomach because he had to stay flat. Raising his arms to steady it and turn the pages wasn't helping the muscle damaged by the bullet, either, so he only read in short spurts. Fortunately, he was not a man who was bored easily. He could entertain himself if he had to by running poker games and plays through his mind. Pre-planning always helped to sharpen the skills.

When Audra came in to bring him some broth for lunch, she gave him a smile. Never one to turn away from the smile of a lovely woman, Darby gave her one of his own along with a twinkling of those blue eyes. Audra fell for the smile and the eyes pretty quickly, but then she had fallen for Jarrod's years ago and these were just like his.

"It's uncanny, how much you look like my brother," she said as she put the tray on the dresser and brought the bowl of broth and the spoon to him. She sat down on the edge of the bed to feed him.

He didn't mind being fed, and he didn't mind her sitting there, either. The attentions and the closeness of a beautiful woman were things he always tried to cultivate. "I do get the feeling that the physical resemblance is all there is," Darby said. "I believe we are quite different, temperamentally."

"Yes, you are," Audra said and fed him the first spoonful. "Although you have similarities."

"Such as?" Darby asked.

Audra fed him again. "You are both quite elegant. You look and act like you were born in formal wear. You both have a love for words and a charming way with women."

"It's flattering of you to say so," Darby said.

Audra fed him one more time. "You, however, have more of the devil in you."

"I?"

"You and that feigned indignation there," Audra said. "You know you have a wicked streak and you love it."

"I'm not so sure I appreciate that you picked up on that so quickly," Darby said. "We haven't spent more than half an hour together so far."

"There is that arrest warrant out on you. It includes fraud."

"A blatant misunderstanding that I am certain will be rectified momentarily," Darby said.

Audra gave him another spoonful and had to laugh. His choice of words always seemed to reflect that streak of wickedness that was so obvious, but it also fed that charming streak. "Well, Gentleman Jack, if it does turn out to be a misunderstanding, I suspect you will be back in trouble five minutes after you get out of this bed."

The blue eyes twinkled. He almost said, "or sooner," but he decided not to tempt the slap he'd get across the face. Even Jack Darby knew that you didn't get too fresh with a young girl with a lot of class, especially when she had control of your food supply. And she was a cousin, even if a distant one. Jack Darby decided he'd behave himself, at least for now.