"Inez sure looks pretty up there, don't she?" Buck gazed appreciatively at the woman now sitting in the witness chair.

"For God's sake, Buck, Ezra's life is at stake here," Chris admonished.

"I'm just trying to focus on the silver lining, that's all."

"Tell me, Buck," Vin said, "why is it that your 'silver lining' is always wearing a dress?"

Buck grinned but didn't have a chance to reply as Trevor Jacob asked his next question.

"So you delivered numerous drinks to the table over several hours, and had the table in your view from the bar throughout the night?"

"Yes."

"In all that time, did you see or hear any disturbance?"

"Disturbance?" Inez asked.

"Yes, were there any arguments over the game? Did a fight break out at any time?"

"No, none."

"Are you aware that Mr. Standish has claimed he was in a fight that night?"

Inez nodded.

"But you didn't witness it?"

"I just told you I didn't see a fight. Why are you asking questions if you aren't going to listen to the answers?"

There were several snickers in the crowd and Buck smiled as he leaned over to Chris, Vin and JD and whispered, "She sure is a spitfire, ain't she?"

Jacob took the response in stride. "Fair enough, Ms. Recillos. Now, you said earlier that Henry Erickson was one of the players; was he there all night?"

"No, he left just after midnight."

"How can you be sure what time it was?"

"I had just looked at the clock because I was thinking that card games don't usually go so late on a Sunday night. Then I heard a bunch of people laugh all at once and when I looked over at Ezra's table, Henry was getting up to leave."

"About what time did the game finally end?"

"I'm not sure; maybe half an hour later."

"Did everyone leave at that time?"

"No, Ezra stayed behind and started playing solitaire."

"Did you speak to him?"

"Just to offer him another drink, but he said he would be going soon."

"And did he?"

"Yes…" Inez trailed off, looking again at Ezra as she did so.

Jacob didn't miss the hesitation. "What is it, Ms. Recillos? Did something unusual happen?"

"No, not really," Inez replied, "It's just that…Henry came back in."

"Oh, I see," Jacob said, giving the jury a pointed look. "What did Mr. Erickson say?"

"I don't know; I was behind the bar by then. I just saw him go over to Ezra and…" Inez stopped, her hands twisting in her lap.

"Please continue, Ms. Recillos," Jacob said.

"I…saw Ezra give Henry a handful of money. They talked for a few minutes and then they left."

It seemed to Chris that the room had managed to become quiet and loud at the same time. Everyone was focused on Inez, wondering what the exchange had meant.

"Let me make sure I understand you, Ms. Recillos," Jacob said slowly. "After everyone had left, Mr. Erickson returned, at which time Mr. Standish…paid him?"

"Yes, I guess so…"

"And then they left together?"

"Yes."

"Did you see either of them again that night?"

"No."

"Have you seen or heard from Henry Erickson since that night?"

Inez shook her head sadly. "No. But—"

"Thank you, Ms. Recillos. Nothing further."

"I hate when he does that," Buck muttered.

"Yeah?" Chris said, "Try being on the receiving end. Wonder what that's about." He motioned towards the defense table, where Harker was whispering something to Ezra, who just shook his head. Harker said something else and Ezra replied, but it didn't seem to be what Harker wanted to hear.

"Mr. Harker?" Judge Travis prompted.

Harker started to say something else to Ezra, then stood to address the saloonkeeper instead. "Good afternoon, ma'am," he said genially, and Inez gave him a warm smile in return. Chris smiled to himself, seeing the obvious change in her demeanor towards Harker versus towards Jacob. She may have had to answer the prosecution's questions, but clearly she was on the side of the defense.

"Now, ah…you said that you saw Mr. Standish give Mr. Erickson some money. Was there…ah…" he fumbled a bit for a question and Chris realized he had been caught completely off guard by Inez's testimony. "What I mean is, could you tell how much it was?"

"No, it was too dim."

"I see. And you didn't hear what they said to each other?"

"No."

"So…is it possible that Mr. Standish had lost to Mr. Erickson earlier in the evening and was paying him at that moment?"

From the expression on Inez's face, Chris knew she was thinking the same thing he was: Was it possible that an inexperienced kid beat the best poker player in town so thoroughly that he couldn't pay up right away? No, not remotely. However, she managed to give a somewhat convincing nod and say, "Certainly."

"Good…good… ah…You said that you didn't see Mr. Standish return; since he has a room upstairs, is that odd?"

"Not at all. He could easily have come in while I was in the back."

"Thank you, Ms. Recillos." Harker returned to his table.

"Call your next witness, Mr. Jacob," Judge Travis instructed.

Jacob stood, "Your Honor, my next witness works at the Five Bar Ranch and won't be available until tomorrow afternoon."

"Very well," Judge Travis replied, "We're adjourned until tomorrow afternoon."

Buck and Vin escorted Ezra out of the Grain Exchange and towards the jail, while Chris and JD walked with Harker towards his hotel.

"So what do you think?" JD asked Harker nervously, "Is it going okay?"

Harker didn't answer for several moments, then finally shrugged. "It's the first day, son. It's going as well as could be expected."

"Oh," JD said, disappointed. "Well, is there anything we can do?"

Harker smiled thinly. "Tomorrow's Sunday; you can go to church and pray."

JD looked stricken at the comment and abruptly turned off into the saloon. Chris watched the younger man shove through the batwing doors. "Didn't take you for the sarcastic type, Harker," he said.

Harker sighed and faced the gunslinger. "I wasn't being sarcastic."