Chapter 36 – A Woman from New York and Adam
We'd only been back home for a week and already Adam was acting like he'd never had that life-saving operation. I don't know how much of it is being like his father and how much is being nearly two and a half. Abby was all smiles. Although her birthday party had been spoiled by Adam getting sick, our return gave her, as she put it, "the very best birthday present ever." I think Nat was beginning to forgive himself for not being able to prevent his little brother from eating the wrong thing and making himself sick. It seems both Dillon boys are their father's sons. Finally, Matt was closer to giving up that badge than ever. He'd made plans to travel to Topeka in the next few days to take the final steps to allow him to be named a circuit judge. Life was again as peaceful as the lives of those close to Matthew Dillon, US Marshal, could ever be. Then I saw her. Belle Schneider had come to Dodge City.
She was walking out of the Dodge House with her husband by her side. I could only hope they were simply passing through and had taken a room at the hotel so they'd have a place to stay until their train was ready to leave tomorrow. Albert must have caught my change in expression because he came over from Mr. Lathrop's store.
"Is something wrong, Miss Kitty? Do you want me to get Doc or Mr. Dillon?"
"Everything's fine, Albert. It's just that I saw a woman I'd hoped never to see again. You'll be coming for supper tonight, won't you?"
Albert left, having accepted my invitation, and I lost sight of the Schneiders. Still, my first instinct was to go back inside the Long Branch and make sure Adam was still there. I'd left him with Abby while I caught up with some paperwork. Nat was helping by bringing up more whiskey from the storeroom. I sent him across the street to help Albert, who he'd already helped with the roundup. Changing my expression to my best poker face, I went upstairs, relieved to see Adam playing happily with his sister.
"Sweetie, why don't you go over and spend some time with Lucy? I'm sure you girls want to pick out some new dresses for school."
It didn't take much persuading; she was off in a flash. I watched out the window as she walked right by the Schneiders. They didn't try to talk to her and she didn't notice them. However, things were different when I started down the street toward Matt's office with Adam's hand firmly held in mine.
"Ah, Mrs. Dillon," Belle Schneider purred as she crossed Front Street to accost me, "it's so good to see a familiar face. Was that your daughter I just saw walking down the street toward the milliner's shop? Oh, and my offer for your adorable boy still stands. You haven't changed your mind, have you, now that you've had a chance to reflect on it?"
I didn't bother to answer. Instead, I quickened my pace down the boardwalk, holding tighter to Adam's hand.
"Ow, Mama, hurt me."
I loosened my grip as I apologized to my perplexed son, saying, "Sorry, Adam, I didn't realize I was holding your hand so tight."
"Mama, who lady? Scare you too? Tell pa, make her go way."
"That's just where we're going. Your pa will know what to do about her."
Festus, Lionel and Clem were happy to entertain Adam while I talked to Matt.
"Kitty, I want you there when I go talk to them. I want to be sure they leave Dodge before I have to go to Topeka in three days. Until they do, we'll have to keep a close watch on Adam without scaring him."
"It's too late for that, Matt. I mean, not scaring him. He saw and felt my reaction when that woman accosted us. I hope her husband proves to be more reasonable."
Matt picked our boy up, so he could ride on his broad shoulders as we strode back down Front Street. We'd reached the entrance to the Dodge House just as Belle and Sid Schneider came down the boardwalk toward the hotel from Delmonico's.
"Excuse me, sir, but my wife and I would like to return to our hotel room. You're blocking the way. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you at first, Mr. Dillon, although I don't for the life of me know how that could have happened with somebody as distinctive as yourself. Very few men come even close to your height, but then, I wasn't expecting to see people we met in Denver in a small town on our way back east."
"Schneider, you can cut the charm. I don't know how you found out where we live, but I can guess. You're not staying here any longer than you have to. I want the two of you on the next eastbound train. It leaves tomorrow at 2. Fact is, I'd prefer it if you were on the stage that leaves at 10, but being as you're city folks, I'll allow that you can stay till the train leaves. In the meantime, if either one of you comes anywhere near my family, I'll throw both of you in jail and keep you there until I can personally put you on the train. I'll even see to it that you're checked out of your hotel room and your luggage gets on board."
"That won't be necessary, Mister, or should I say, Marshal Dillon. I'll make sure my wife behaves herself, despite the loss she's been through. I didn't tell you while we were at the hospital in Denver, but this is her second recent loss. Both of us are still getting over the loss of our own little boy not a week after his birth almost three years ago. To Belle, and to me too, your son looks very much like what we imagined our boy would look like had he lived. He had red hair like mine."
"I'm sorry for your loss, but that doesn't change anything. Stay away from my family and get out of Dodge tomorrow."
I've seen many a Texas cowboy cower when Matt uses that tone, so I expected a couple from New York City to take his threat seriously and without question. How wrong I was. Not an hour later, I had crossed the alleyway to enter Mr. Lathrop's store to pick up a few extras I'd need for dinner that night, and a few other things, with Adam racing in front of me. He was anxious to see what licorice or other candy he might persuade me to buy for him, but never got there. Mr. Schneider blocked his path to the candy counter, enfolding my precious little boy in his arms and nodding to his wife, who was watching the whole scene while pretending to look at a bracelet.
"It's about time you brought our boy to us, Mrs. Dillon," she said while joining her husband. "I don't know how you got him way out here from the New York hospital where I gave birth to him, but we'll take him home now."
"Your boy to you," I sputtered. "I don't care what you may have lost, but my little miracle isn't about to replace him. Let go of him this instant and if you or your husband ever come within a foot of him, I'll grab a rifle and kill you where you stand."
"You heard my ma. Let go of the little squirt now, mister. I don't care what you may believe, but I've been with my little brother from the day he was born. Take your hands off him now or I won't be responsible for the shape I leave you in."
With that, Nat, who'd come to help me carry the packages, raced past me, grabbed Schneider's arms, forcing them apart. Mrs. Schneider screamed, attracting a crowd. By the time Matt arrived, Nat had Schneider pinned against the counter and Adam's face was buried in my skirts while he shook from fear and a desperate attempt to not cry.
"I'll take over from here, son," Matt said softly. "I warned you Schneider," he continued, even softer, but with more menace in his tone, as he grabbed the man by his collar and his wife by her arm. "You're spending your remaining hours in Dodge in jail."
Matt, as always, kept his promise and I breathed a sigh of relief as the eastbound train pulled out of the station on Saturday afternoon with the Schneiders on it. They were gone from our lives – again.
On Monday morning Matt boarded the train for Topeka. His days as a lawman were almost over. He would return as a lawyer, accepted by both the State of Kansas and the United States Government, the final steps to becoming a judge. The trip was just a formality to confirm his integrity. Matt had spent too many years devoted to the law for anyone to doubt his moral fiber. Besides, after facing all that he had as a US Marshal and succeeding, a series of questions about his character would be as easy for him as it would be for Nat to outrace Adam. Still, out of habit, I wouldn't fully relax until he returned home. I certainly had no worries about Adam. Therefore I was surprised by what Matt said just after I gave him a quick kiss goodbye before he climbed aboard the train.
"Kitty, keep a close watch on Adam while I'm gone. I have a gut feeling we're not through with the Scneiders just yet. They're desperate people and desperate people do the most unlikely things. I may have scared them, but they have a way of learning things. They'll know I'll be out of town. Please, for me, don't let him out of your sight. I'll see you later."
The later was late Friday evening, but since we'd become close that's what he always said. It didn't matter if he planned to be away from me for a few hours or a few weeks or even months. However, this was one of those times when I wasn't worried about him coming back hurt or not coming back at all. This trip was a safe one, a simple train ride to the state capitol and back.
By Wednesday afternoon nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It was just another dry, hot day in late August in Dodge City. Nobody seemed to have any energy except Adam. He raced out through the batwing doors of the Long Branch and across Front Street just for the fun of it. Matt would soon be home and his dire warning to keep a constant eye on our youngest child was almost forgotten. I took my time leaving the coolness of my saloon and immediately felt guilty for not remembering to heed Matt's gut feeling. That woman was back and she was grabbing for my son from the alley next to the Dodge House. Ignoring the heat, I raced to the spot as fast as I could, but tripped over a box that must have fallen from some farmer's wagon. As I fell, I heard what sounded to me like a rifle shot close by as my head struck the edge of the water trough, knocking me senseless for a moment or two.
When I regained my senses and began to sit up, a shaken Adam had run to me. I grabbed him and held him close in relief.
"Mama, she fall down. You fall down. Why hold gun?"
I must have hit my head harder than I realized, I thought. What Adam was saying didn't make any sense. Then I remembered the sound of the rifle and realized I was holding one in my hands against the back of my son. I dropped it in shock as I looked around me. As I began to stand up I saw a crowd gathering and Belle Schneider lying dead not three feet away in the alley.
Sid Schneider pushed his way through the crowd from where he'd been kneeling next to his wife toward me as Lionel came at me from the other direction. I just stood in disbelief as he made his accusations.
"Officer, I don't care if she is your employer's wife. Arrest that woman. She just murdered my wife. Ask the witnesses, she dropped that rifle and if you check it, you'll find it was recently fired."
"Miss Kitty, just what happened here? Can you explain the rifle?"
"All I know Lionel is I heard a rifle shot as I tripped and hit my head running after Adam to catch him before that woman lying there could grab him. The next thing I knew she was dead and I had both Adam and the rifle in my arms."
"Why aren't you taking her to jail? Move it man. You can't believe her story! There are plenty of witnesses who heard her threaten to kill my wife with a rifle less than a week ago."
"Mr. Schneider, if you plan on swearing out a complaint against Mrs. Dillon for the murder of your wife, a trial will be held, but I'm not going to lock her up. She isn't going anywhere except to her home and business. Please, Miss Kitty stay at home until this is all over."
"Officer, I do believe you're frightened of the power the Dillons wield in your town. Well, I'm not going to stand for it. She should be locked up unless a judge or prosecutor deems otherwise."
"Don't tell me the law, mister. My dad's Denver's District Attorney. However, if it will quiet you down, we'll go see Judge Brooker. Oh, Nat," he added, seeing my older son coming down the street toward us, "come along too. This concerns you as much as anybody."
We made quite a group heading toward Judge Brooker's office in the courthouse, two men followed by a woman on the arm of a tall 13-year-old boy while she, in turn, held the hand of a small boy hardly more than a baby. Judge Brooker looked up at us in surprise after we entered at his invitation. Schneider was quick to make the situation known. Judge Brooker was quicker to hide his shock, but Nat paled at the news.
"Mr. Schneider, I understand your concern, but I'm going to agree with Deputy Walker. Mrs. Dillon needn't be locked in a jail cell, remaining in her home to care for her children and business is sufficient until a trial date is set and the trial completed. If she has to leave the building, she'll have to be escorted by a representative of the law other than her husband. I, however, can't set the date for the trial just yet – at least not until I learn when another judge will be available. I'm too close to the family even for a town the size of Dodge. Besides, it's my intention to represent Mrs. Dillon. Her husband wouldn't want anyone else, since I've heard he considers me the best lawyer in all of Kansas. By the way Miss Kitty, when do you expect Matt back from Topeka?"
"He'll be home Friday night. Oh, and thank you for taking my case."
"Oh, one more thing, Judge. I don't want that old man, the local doctor anywhere near my wife's body. He's too close to this woman. In fact, I don't want any local doctor near my wife's body. I believe there was another young deputy who took up a station by where my wife was felled. He's new to this town and should guard her over at your local undertaking establishment. I plan to send for the state medical examiner to come and rule on how Belle came to die. Dr. Adams may observe if he wishes. I'm sure the prosecutor, who I think should be someone sent by the Kansas Attorney General will concur."
Our group, along with Paul Skidmore the local prosecutor, left Judge Brooker's office. However, when we reached the Long Branch, Schneider and Paul headed off to Percy Crump with Clem, his wife's body and Mike Duncan. The rest of us, along with Doc and Festus, entered the Long Branch.
"Ma, do you want me to wire pa? It will be a shock when he comes home Friday."
"It would be better if he hears the news directly from us rather than reading it in a terse telegram, but letting him know today will bring him home sooner and avoid his hearing about it on the train from Dr. Cuthgart or Mr. Kellogg. Why don't you go to the Burke's office and call his hotel."