Chapter 6

Nothing at all happened over the next few days, except that Jarrod grew stronger and was up and around more. The doctor had come and pronounced him almost good as new, which everyone was glad to hear. He still had to watch his energy, take the stairs easy and use a cane for support, but he was getting well fast.

The only problem was that he still had to stay inside and away from windows, which meant taking his meals in the kitchen or in the guest room, because there were too many windows in the dining room. Playing pool was out of the question, too – too many windows in the library. The drapes could be closed in the living room, so at least Jarrod could join in the before dinner socializing.

The trial was less than a week away when the prosecutor, Jack Pope, came to talk to Jarrod about his testimony. First, though, he had some news.

"Mark Dunnigan is back in town," Jack said. "He was off looking for a lawyer for Davy and finally found one in Modesto – name's Calvin Price. Do you know him?"

Jarrod shook his head. "Must be new, probably young."

"Well, he came to me to see if he could get some kind of deal for Davy. I told him I'd think about it."

Jarrod looked hard at Pope. "What exactly are the charges on Davy?"

"Armed robbery is our best charge. You can put Davy in the depot, and you can testify that your gold disappeared that night and is still gone. We also have him on manslaughter for Sam at the depot, lesser manslaughter charges on Monty, but they're on shakier ground."

Jarrod nodded. "I didn't see Davy involved in either killing. And I know he didn't shoot me."

"Are you absolutely sure you never saw Mark that night?"

"I wish I wasn't, but no, I never saw Mark at all. Only Davy. So – a jury probably would convict him of armed robbery, maybe convict him of killing Sam, probably not Monty. Are you planning on offering him anything?"

"If he pleads guilty to the armed robbery and manslaughter for Sam, I'd recommend twenty years and give him a pass on the charge on Monty."

Jarrod smiled. "He'll never take it. Knowing Davy, he'll plan on taking the stand and charming the jury."

"Well, I'll put it out there, but I won't do any better than that for him. Now, you – how are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm good. Got my cane to keep me from falling down, but otherwise I'm hale and hardy."

"I want you to have that cane with you when you testify. I don't want you looking too good."

Jarrod laughed. "I was thinking the same thing myself, but it'll be honest. I won't be off this cane for a while, and I expect I'll still have trouble getting up and down. Back still hurts."

"I'll want you to testify about everything you remember about that night, just as you've told it to me, and that the gold disappeared and is still gone. And I will ask you about your injury, how it's affected your life, how much your back hurts, but it will probably be ruled irrelevant if Price objects, since your shooting is not among the charges."

Jarrod nodded.

"Do you have any memory of what happened at the depot after you were shot?"

Jarrod shook his head. "I was flat on the floor. I think I heard shots, but I can't be sure. I couldn't see anything, and the next thing I knew was when I was home here in bed, hours later."

Pope nodded. "Your testimony shouldn't take too long, and I expect the cross will just center on how you didn't see Davy Dunnigan shoot anyone. I'll tie him into the shootings on redirect as best I can."

"He was the only man I saw close to Sam. I saw him clearly with a gun pointed at me when Mark shot me in the back."

"You're sure you didn't see Mark at all? At no time?"

Jarrod shook his head. "Not at all."

"So, you're not sure who shot you."

"No, I'm not."

"It doesn't really matter for our purposes. I'll get what I need on redirect and when I cross examine Davy."

"He'll take the stand, you think?"

Pope got up. "Oh, yes, I agree with you, he'll take the stand and turn on the charm. If I can rattle him, I will. I'm sure I can nail him on the armed robbery charge, might even get the manslaughter conviction. We'll see."

Jarrod got up and using his cane, walked Pope to the door. As he opened it, Jarrod stayed behind it, bid Pope a good-bye, then closed it and came back into the foyer, away from any windows.

Victoria came down the stairs. "Are you finished with your trial preparation?"

"It didn't take long," Jarrod said. "My testimony won't take long either, so I want you and Audra to reconsider and stay here."

Jarrod had agreed they could come to the trial if they traveled separately from him, but he kept trying to talk them out of it. Victoria said, "We'll see. Now, come have some lunch in the kitchen with us."

XXXXXX

In the darkness, Mark Dunnigan scouted the area around the hill behind the Barkley house as best he could. He hunkered down behind a rock and listened for any movement of men or horses through the trees. He hoped being gone for several days had made the Barkley guards less careful. He spent a long time listening.

He heard nothing for over an hour, so he moved quietly on foot to where he knew he could see the Barkley house – but he got a shock. The light in the room he had assumed was Jarrod Barkley's was out. He looked at the other windows and saw only rooms downstairs with lights. Using his field glasses, he could get a decent look at who was in those rooms. There were two men, but he knew them to be Nick and Heath, the men who had come to Sunflower and hauled him and Davy back.

For half a moment Mark considered picking off one of those men. A piece of revenge tasted very sweet. But he decided not to do it. Maybe someday, but not today.

For a long time he watched. Finally, the lights downstairs went out. Lights appeared upstairs, but never in the same room that had the light before. There were never any people near the windows upstairs.

Mark Dunnigan stayed for a long time. Lights went out all over the house, except for those outside on the porches. He could see men moving around the outside on foot. They still had the guards.

Mark Dunnigan stayed all night, but never had any chance to take a shot at Jarrod Barkley. It was beginning to look like his only chance might come when the man was on his way to court, and that might not be a real chance either. As the sky began to lighten in the east, Dunnigan returned to his horse and rode out.

He was thinking, Davy, you may just have to sit in a cell for the rest of your life, if you don't hang.

But he wasn't ready to give up yet.