Chapter 6 – Luther Donovan
The incidents with Doralice and Cristian got me to thinking; both had happened quite a while ago. What was there in Maude's past that was going to come back to haunt her? Better yet, what was there in mine?
I wasn't gonna worry about mine right now, I was more concerned with Maude's. The time was passing too quickly, and we were running short on days to figure out who we were dealing with and how the 'fraud' was supposed to have come about. Time to have a chat with Maude.
But first, some unfinished business with Cristian. When I got back to Little Bend I went straight to his office. Josie, his part-time office girl, was at the front desk and sent me in to see him. He looked up from his paperwork with a big smile, and I hoped that I wouldn't wipe it off his face after we talked. "How was the poker game?"
I felt guilty giving him my answer. "There wasn't one, Cristian; I went to Abilene."
His face fell and resumed its normally somber expression. "Oh. Then you know about Billy."
I nodded. "And Della is thrilled that you're married and happy."
"Sweetest lady on the face of the earth."
"She thinks an awful lot of you," I told him.
"Yes, she was one of my biggest supporters."
"You don't wear a gun anymore," I pointed out.
"No, I don't. Billy's the biggest reason why."
"Why didn't you tell me? I'd never repeat anything you didn't want repeated. Besides, you didn't do anything wrong."
"That's what you and about half the town of Abilene believe. The other half believes I committed cold-blooded murder and got away with it."
"From what Della told me, you saved the girl's life. And John Law must have believed it, too, since there was no arrest."
"We all agreed," Cristian hesitated, "that the best thing for me to do was leave town. That's when I came here. Maude knows all this, by the way. I told her everything the first night she went out to dinner with me."
"Anybody else?"
"I was gettin' ready to tell Doralice. I thought she should know since I married her mother. And if you'd married Doralice by now . . . "
I chuckled. "I know, I know. It's on the agenda, believe me. Anyway, I sure can't see any connection between you and Mr. Pike. I'd like to talk to Maude if you don't mind."
He shook his head. "No, go right ahead. We don't keep any secrets from each other, and I don't think you'll find anything. She expects to hear from you, anyway."
Maudie tended to be two or three steps ahead of me and most everybody else at one time. So it was no surprise that she was expecting me. I waited until the next day to see her, and found her, as usual, in her office at the saloon.
"So, Cristian tells me you went to Abilene." She sat back in her chair and grinned at me.
"Yep. No need to look so smug."
"It was Cristian's story to tell, Bart, not mine."
"Thank you, Brother Bret." We both got a good laugh out of that one, as that was always one of Bret's favorite expressions.
"So now you're here to talk to me."
"Yep."
"I've got nothin' for you, Bart."
I raised an eyebrow and questioned her. "Nothin', Maude, nothin'? Think back to before you came to Little Bend. Anything back there?"
She shook her head. "Not unless it was somethin' when I was still married to Luther."
I think that was the first time she'd ever mentioned Donovan's name. "When was that?"
"Well, let's see. I left him when Doralice was seven years old. I shoulda divorced him, but I didn't. And he got killed . . . ten or eleven years later."
Something about those numbers had me thinking . . . if Doralice was seven when Maude left her husband . . . and died eleven years later . . . Doralice was eighteen when she ran away with Medina. Which happened while Maude was makin' a deal with Flynn . . . could this have somethin' to do with Luther Donovan? Somethin' I'd read in the original bill of sale between Billy and Maude was botherin' me . . . but I couldn't tell you exactly what it was. I needed to see the paperwork that Cristian had again.
"Bart . . . Bart, did you hear me?"
"I'm sorry, Maude, what did you say?"
"I said, Luther was long gone by the time I bought the property from Billy."
"There's a difference between long gone and dead, Maude. Which was it?"
"It was . . . it was . . . " she picked up her brandy glass. It was empty, and as she poured herself another, I could see her mind working. "By God, I don't know. I might have somethin' at the house that tells me. When you and Doralice come in tonight, you can take me home and I'll look to see what I've got. Alright with you?"
"Yeah, sure. Cristian in court today?" Like I said before, I needed to see that bill of sale one more time.
"No, not that I know of. He should be at the office all day. You need to see him for somethin'?"
"Not him," I answered carefully. "The bill of sale." I leaned across the desk and kissed her cheek, then headed for the door. Maude's face wore a startled expression, but I didn't give her a chance to say anything.
I headed straight for Maude's old house. I hadn't seen my girl since I got back from Abilene, and spending time with her was way overdue. Especially since we were workin' at Maude's tonight, and it would be morning before we'd have any time alone again. "Doralice," I called as I came through the door.
"In the bedroom," she called back.
"Perfect. Don't move." She met me at the bedroom door, and once again I was taken aback by how absolutely beautiful she was. What I wanted was one thing; what I'd hurried over here to try and find out was, unfortunately, something else. That didn't stop me from gathering her into my arms and kissing her like my life depended on it. Because, of course, it did.
"I need to ask you a question," I managed to say before those perfect lips of hers met mine again.
"You're no fun," she pouted, as I gritted my teeth. I'd much rather keep kissing her then start cross-examining her, especially about the subject in front of me.
"I know, and right now I completely agree with you. But I need some information, and you may be the only one that can get it for me."
"Alright, Detective Maverick. What do you need to know?"
"Who really killed your father, and when did it happen?"
