Chapter 47
It was eerily silent in the jailhouse, and the only sounds that managed to reach his ears were the soft murmur or his own breathing. Sitting on the thin bunk where he had slept on and off the night before, Albert cast a look around the small office.
The marshal had left a few minutes ago, and only his deputy remained in the place. The man rocked his chair on its two back legs to and fro, and even though he was facing the cells, his attention was focused on the piece of wood he was carving into a shapeless figure. Strangely enough, the whittling knife made no sound at all. Albert thought that the silence was going to drive him insane.
His eyes fell on his father, who had been placed in the adjacent cell. His back was purposefully towards him; since he had been brought to the jailhouse, the doctor had not addressed a single word to his son, and Albert could not stand his cold treatment any longer. "This was a risk we always knew we were taking," Albert remarked as casually as if they were talking about the weather over a cup of coffee. "You shouldn't be so surprised."
Dr. Hill turned around slowly, and his dark, mysterious eyes darted to his son. "I can't understand how you can sound so smug and carefree after what you've done, Alfie," he spat disdainfully.
"I couldn't do anything else! They knew everything!"
"You fool, they never knew everything," Dr. Hill contradicted him. "You were just a toy in their hands, and they played you well."
"You're being unfair! You weren't there!"
"You even told them where I was!" Dr. Hill barked angrily. "It wasn't enough for you to sink in mud, but you had to drag me into the pit as well! I heard snakes feel a greater sense of loyalty than you!"
Annoyed by the loud voices, the deputy left his place and stepped out of the office, but neither of the two men in the cells noticed his absence. "They'll have found you sooner or later!"
"Is that your pitiful excuse?" Dr. Hill asked, his voice full of scorn and spite. "I'm ashamed of having you as a son."
Despite boiling with anger inside, Albert made a gesture of indifference. "You've never been proud of me anyway. I was never good enough for you, was I?"
"Please spare me the lecture," the older men retorted in a mocking tone. "I'm sick and tired of you and your words! Don't you realize that we are as well as dead? So if you don't have any brilliant ideas how to get us out of here, you better shut your trap!"
Dr. Hill turned his back to his son again, putting an end to the conversation. Almost at the same time Teaspoon walked in. The marshal took a few slow steps closer to the cells and stopped at a certain distance. His arms folded over his chest, he directed his eyes to the men with a mixture of curiosity, frustration, and rage. "How d'you find your accommodation, gentlemen?" he asked sarcastically. "Don't get too cozy though. Soon you'll be partin' to a more proper… destination."
Dr. Hill did not move a muscle, and Albert simply lifted his annoyed eyes to the marshal. For a moment Teaspoon thought the young man was going to speak up, but suddenly, his eyes softened as he looked at something behind the old lawman. The sound of heels against the wooden floor echoed in the room, and when Teaspoon turned around, he was surprised to find Theresa.
The young woman stopped for a second as her eyes darted to her husband. His gaze almost burned, but Theresa held her head high and proud as she walked to him, passing by the marshal without a single look in his direction. Teaspoon noticed the determination in the young woman's bearing, and decided to make himself scarce. He discreetly returned to his desk, so that Theresa could enjoy some privacy but at the same time he would be close enough in case she needed him.
For a few seconds Theresa simply stared at Albert through the cell bars, and the intensity of her green eyes was too much for him to endure. When Albert lowered his head, she finally spoke up. "Why, Albert? Why?"
"This has nothing to do with you?" he muttered.
"How the hell not? It's my brother you killed, and my sister you poisoned!"
"It was just a matter of luck… rather, bad luck. They… you were simply born to the wrong man."
"And all this for money," Theresa insisted in a shrill tone.
"Yes," Albert admitted as he lifted his eyes back to his wife.
"And me?"
"What about you?"
"Was marrying me part of your plan?"
Albert hesitated for a second, and then he nodded. "Yes, it was."
"You've never loved me!" Theresa exclaimed in an accusing tone.
"Love is a relative notion. I think you're a pretty good wife, and I guess I love you in my own way."
"In your own way?" Theresa whispered, trying to choke back the tears of shame and pain that threatened to escape.
"I did love you, Theresa," Albert stated. "And I know we could have lived a very happy, long life." The man lowered his gaze and noticed her hands gripping two cell bars. Without thinking about it twice, he dared to place his own hands over hers. "If I hadn't been caught, you could have enjoyed the luxuries of a queen. I'd have pampered and given you everything. It'd have been bliss."
Theresa stared at him in horror, and quickly removed her hands. "Don't touch me! Don't you ever touch me! You're sick and disgusting, and I've had enough! Go to hell!" Tears were pouring from her eyes as she swirled around and darted out of the office in a flash.
Teaspoon did not even have a chance to ask her whether she was fine, and as he glanced out of the window, he realized Theresa was already almost at the end of the street, clearly heading for her sister's place. Teaspoon rose from his chair, feeling as appalled by the men in the cells as Theresa had stated. These two people could not even been called men, and the marshal had to make use of all his restraint power to control the urge to draw his gun and empty it in the pair.
"You proud of yourself?" Teaspoon could not help but drop sourly.
Albert kept quiet, but Dr. Hill turned from the wall he had been staring at for the last twenty minutes, and said, "Marshal, keep your lectures and wise words for those who are interested in listening. What would you expect from that woman anyway? She's never been too bright, and she knew she was marrying above herself when Alfred proposed to her. Well, everything has a price in this world of ours."
Teaspoon took a couple of steps closer as his anger kept burning his very soul. "If you say one more malicious thing about Theresa, I'll forget I'm the law here. You deserve death through and through. How can you be so cynical when a death sentence dangles over your head?" Noticing Dr. Hill's derisive expression, the marshal felt fury soar inside, and suddenly a wicked idea crept into his mind. "I'm curious about something. Tell me how it feels knowin' all your plottin' and crimes only got you to death? And what for? For nothin'."
This perked Albert's attention at once. "What do you mean for nothing?"
A lopsided, ironic smile crept into his mouth. "That money you so lusted for is gone," Teaspoon said, enjoying the sight before him. The two men's faces looked visibly troubled, and even Dr. Hill's face had whitened in fear at the possibility the marshal had mentioned even though his whole self was set to deny the whole thing. "We had to check with the bank, and apparently there's been some complications."
"Complications?" Dr. Hill echoed, his deadly pale face revealing that his pretended indifference was crumbling down.
"Bad management and somethin' called the… the stock market have thrown that bank and others into bankruptcy," Teaspoon carried on with his concocted story. "They've lost all their clients' money. There's been quite a riot up there."
"But… but that's impossible!" Albert exclaimed. "The bank has a duty to guarantee the safety of our money… of people's money. It surely…"
"Shut up, Alfie!" Dr. Hill roared as he sank down on the bunk and buried his face in his hands. Right now he could not stand his son's foolishness, and his fury and frustration rocketed as misery wrapped around him.
Teaspoon gave a crooked, sarcastic smile. "Ain't it ironic? After all the trouble you went through to lay your dirty hands on Boggs' big dollars, it seems the money would never have become totally yours in the end. And now you're doomed."
The marshal did not linger there for a response, and instead turned around and stepped out of his office. Right now standing around those two was more than he could stand. Maybe his lie was not right, but he felt those two men needed a bigger lesson than death. What they had done was way too horrible, and they deserved their moral punishment, and if that meant to resort to a lie or two, Teaspoon did not feel guilty at all.
The window shutters were slightly open, and only a few sneaky sunrays made their way into the bedroom. Their light fell on the bright crystals embellishing the lamp of the dress which reflected a myriad of colors on the ceiling. Louise kept her eyes directed upwards, blankly staring at the game of lights and shadows. When the door clicked open, she unglued her gaze from the ceiling and saw her husband walk inside.
Kid's features lit up with a bright smile instantly as he asked, "How are you feeling today?"
Louise shrugged her shoulders in indifference. "Could you pleased open the shutters, Kid? The room looks even gloomier than I feel," she asked instead of answering his question.
The Southerner strode across the bedroom, and as he pulled the shutters widely open, he said, "Lou, you shouldn't torture yourself this way. The important thing is that you're gonna be fine, and we need to put these horrible weeks behind us."
Lou kept her arm dangling above her eyes to block the bright sunshine that momentarily blinded her. "My poor brother wasn't that lucky," she said grimly. "He didn't have the chance to even defend himself."
"I… I know," Kid agreed. "That was very unfair indeed."
Lou kept quiet for a few seconds, and then she added, "I wonder how Tessie's doing. She hasn't been here to see me since she fled yesterday. I know her, and she must be having a hell of a time."
"Last night she stayed in her old room in this house, but she wouldn't talk to me or anybody," Kid explained, and as Lou sighed unhappily, he added, "She needs time, but I'm sure she'll talk to us when she's ready to do so."
"She's gonna need us terribly."
Kid nodded, and slowly walked closer to the bed. "I've been thinking about something, Lou." He paused, and as his wife silently sent him an enquiring look, he continued, "We could ask her to move to the ranch with us. She shouldn't be alone after all that's happened. And … and if the idea doesn't appeal to her, well… we might even consider living in Seneca."
"Would you be ready to do that?" Lou asked in obvious astonishment.
"I… I don't know," Kid admitted. "I just know you and your sister have gone through too much for the last couple of years, especially in the last couple of days, learning the devastating truth that Albert hid. You two need to be together and support each other, and I won't stand in the middle like a stupid obstacle."
Lou smiled for the first time. "You're so generous, Kid. You never cease to amaze me."
Kid blushed, feeling very awkward to be receiving her praise he thought he did not deserve. "All I want is for all of us to be fine. Lou, I've been so miserable and scared in these weeks when that damn doctor kept saying you were going to die."
Lou took a deep breath. "I… I know," she muttered.
"The idea of losing you forever made me realize that nothing matters more than family… those you love. I don't care about the ranch or anything else… one way or another we'll make do, but we need to stick together as Teaspoon always says."
"The ranch's part of your life too," Lou contradicted him.
"But I'd trade it for you and your happiness," Kid insisted honestly.
Lou smiled and spread her arms to him. "Come here, Kid," she whispered, and her husband promptly snuggled in the warmth of her embrace and held her as close to him as possible.
"Oh Lou, I'm so glad everything's over and you're almost well," he exclaimed. "I thought I'd never hold you again."
"Oh one day you'll get tired of these old bones of mine. What was it you called me once? Oh yes, only bones and skin."
Kid drew away and looked into her big, brown eyes. "Never, Mrs. McCloud. Even when your beautiful skin gets wrinkled and your lovely chestnut hair turns into a layer of grayness, I won't be able to keep my hands off you. I want your nice bones and skin forever. Please let's love and grow old together, my beautiful wife."
Louise grinned. "You've grown into such a sweet talker, Kid," she teased him. "Have you been taking lessons from Teaspoon?"
Kid ignored her jest as his mind was dominated by more compelling matters. "Let's grow old, Lou," he repeated. "No more surprises."
Louise realized he was serious and was not in the mood for joking. For weeks Kid had thought she was dying, and as Lou put herself in his shoes now, she could hardly bear the mere thought. Her mind traveled back to those months she had believed he had been killed in war. The agony and pain were still fresh in her soul and even though her husband was before her at that moment, her eyes suddenly filled with tears. Cursing herself for crying, Lou forced herself to push those negative thoughts out of her mind and wiped those ominous tears from her eyes. Her honest gaze directed to her husband as she opened her mouth to speak. "No more surprises, Kid. I promise," she said, and even though her promise was senseless, this was something that the two of them needed to hear.
