Chapter 17

Haunted Past

Nina stood at the back door, staring in disbelief at Cooper's discovery. Lew stepped quietly between her and the commotion outside. "Why don't you come back inside ma'am? That's nothing you should be looking at." He took the liberty of pulling a chair from the table as an enticement. It was rare that the crusty bronco buster shared a smile but he rendered one today to the frightened lady.

With a grateful nod, Nina returned to the kitchen accepting his offer. "Thank you Mr. Pitton."

"Just Lew, ma'am." The poor woman was already in a fragile state so Lew moved slowly when he took the seat next to her. "I've been meaning to tell you what a great job you've done here Mrs. Sharkey. I didn't think they would ever find anybody that could cook as good as old Jasper." It was out of character for the cowboy to ramble on but it did seem to be calming the lady.

"I appreciate that and please call me Nina." Even though her expression was still one of fear, her tone reflected gratitude. "Sounds like everyone was very fond of Jasper."

"He was quite the character." Despite the circumstances, Lew couldn't keep the smile at a distance. "The old codger wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. Least of all, us cowboys."

"Everyone has been very kind. I just hope this…" Once again, Nina began to twist the corner of her apron in a nervous gesture. She pushed the thought aside. "Are you sure you don't want me to get you a cup of coffee?"

Lew pushed the chair back and stood up. "Maybe later. I believe I'll just go out and see if they've identified the bod…uh…the man yet."

====()()()()====

Matt stared down at the rotted corpse. A couple of ranch hands had pulled the body from the garbage so it could be examined. The face was beyond recognition but one of the men was able to identify Cobb Styles by his fancy boots.

The marshal glanced up at the sound of the approaching buggy. He was surprised to see not one of Dodge's fine physicians but two.

His first question didn't come as a surprise to either doctor. "How is Cooper?"

"He's going to be all right." Calleigh accepted the powerful hands that lifted her from the buggy. "It put a scare into him but he's a tough little boy."

Matt glanced back at the decomposing remains. "Maybe so but that's a pretty ugly thing for him to see." He pulled his gaze from the body back to his daughter. "And Hadley?"

"Hadley didn't see anything Daddy. It just upset her that Cooper was so scared. They're both asleep right now."

Matt gave a sharp nod accepting the news. "I was afraid your mother was going to show up here to be with Nina." The subtle glance exchanged between the two physicians did not go unnoticed by the lawman. "What? Is Kitty all right?"

"She's fine." Doc assured him. Despite their surroundings, the older man struggled to keep a smug grin from surfacing. "Just as you suspected, Kitty was planning on coming with me but was overruled by your daughter who then gave orders for her to go lie down."

"And she went?" Matt shook his head, a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. "I don't understand how come the only people either of you will listen to is each other!"

Calleigh donned an innocent smile and an equally guileless shrug. "Guess it's the red hair." Her attention was once again drawn to the victim, causing the threesome to abandon their brief respite from the killing. "I better go on inside. I promised Momma I would take care of Nina." Her hand brushed lovingly across her father's shoulder as she walked toward the cook shack.

Doc clutched his black bag and made a swipe at his mustache. "Guess I might as well get to work too."

====()()()()====

Nina stood at the open door eager for Calleigh to step inside. "How's little Cooper and the baby? Are they all right?

"They're both going to be fine."

"I am so sorry I sent him up there." Once again, Nina's apron bore the brunt of her anxieties. "Your mother must be terribly upset."

"Momma wanted to come." Calleigh said while offering a comforting hug. "But I thought she's had enough stress for one day."

"Of course." Nina struggled to offer a smile. "She needs to be home with those babies. Have they identified the – the body?"

"I didn't hear anything. Nina please come and sit down. You're going to wear a hole in the floor pacing back and forth. I don't have my bag with me but I could get something from Poppy to calm you down if you want."

Nina shook her head as she turned away from the door. "No I'm alright. I guess I've been pretty sheltered these past years. Living away from town, and away from people." She joined Calleigh at the table, finally giving her fidgeting hands a rest.

"We're not exactly sheltered here in Dodge City but the LadyK and Double O are pretty safe places too." Calleigh chuckled softly. "Finding a dead body in the compost pile is a little shocking even for us."

===()()()()===

How long you think he's been dead Doc?" Matt ran the back of his hand under his nose to shield himself from the smell.

The older man's nostrils flared, rebelling against the repulsive odor assaulting them. "I'd say about two days. I can only guess how long but I can tell you for sure how he died." He took a step back from the decaying corpse. "Shot in the back."

Matt pushed his hat higher up on his forehead. "In the back? Hmmm. I doubt that you'll find a single person on the ranch that will miss him but to shoot him in the back…"

Doc took another step back, in a futile attempt to escape the smell. "When's the last time anybody seen him?"

"Not sure. I know he got into it with Bear a couple of nights ago." Matt stared at the mutilated body. The truth was he had no pity for Cobb Styles; his only concern when he looked at the corpse was that Cooper had witnessed this repulsive sight.

===()()()()===

Despite the grisly scene, a curious group was gathering around the body. Theories and speculation circulated through the crowd but very little sympathy. Perhaps a bit of injustice in the fact he was shot in the back but other than that, the sentiment was mostly indifferent.

Amidst the spectators, the snively little cowboy began to circulate. Quietly, subtly planting seeds of suspicion; leaking tiny innuendoes. His vague accusations were like tiny arrows, all directed at Nina. If only he could just get someone to voice an accusation out loud; someone other than himself.

The anxious man became excited when he heard a couple of guys talking about Cobb's gun. Or rather the absence of the monogrammed ivory handled .45. Linney had planted the revolver in the cook shack. He placed it right behind the flour barrel just far enough to appear hidden but conspicuous enough to be seen. Linney figured he could lead them to the murder weapon once Nina was a legitimate suspect.

Linney's wishes were answered in the form of ranch hand Boze Wickams. Unfazed by the grisly sight, the hulking cowboy wondered if the new cook had any coffee made. And maybe some of those biscuits leftover from breakfast.

Boze gave the back door a quick knock before stepping into the cook shack. "Morning Little Doc." He gave a quick nod to the redhead before turning to Nina. "Could I bother you for a cup of coffee ma'am?" He reached back to close the door behind him but felt it suddenly jerked from his grasp.

"I could use a cup myself after seeing this." Linney said as he followed the man inside. "Unless you got something stronger."

"You do your drinking in town Linney Sparks, not here at the ranch."

The sharp reprimand caused him to shrink back. "Sorry, Ms. O'Brian, I didn't see you there. Of course I was only kidden, coffee would be fine."

Calleigh quickly dismissed Linney and directed her question to Boze. "Do they know who it is yet?"

The big man wandered over to the stove. He seemed more interested in the biscuits hiding under the checkered towel than the dead man. "Yeah. It was that loud mouth Styles. Could I have one of these ma'am?" He waited for a nod of approval before helping himself.

"Cobb Styles?" Calleigh seemed mildly surprised. "He must have shot off his mouth once too often."

Linney was feeling just brave enough to throw some suspicion into the conversation. "I heard he got into a fight with Bear over our new cook." Narrow black eyes glanced over in Nina's direction.

"Well you heard wrong." Calleigh shot back. "First off, nobody fights with Bear; they just get beat by him. And it wasn't over Nina."

"I'm sorry…I guess I did hear wrong." Linney winced again from her stinging tone. Calleigh wasn't nearly as tall as her pa but she was twice as scary.

Nina had remained silent, keeping her focus on her work as she retrieved a pair of cups from the sideboard along with the sugar bowl and creamer. She was sorry the man had been murdered but relieved that he wouldn't be causing her any more trouble. What she failed to realize was that her problems were just about to begin.

When she turned back to the stove for the coffee, Linney saw his chance. A seemingly careless swing of his elbow and the glass container tumbled off the table spilling sweet granules across the floor. "Don't fret none ma'am, I'll clean it right up." Linney nodded toward the handle leaning against the flour bin. "Boze step around that barrel and grab that broom for me will ya."

Linney held his breath, waiting, praying for the cowboy to discover the gun. When Boze's giant boot stumbled into the revolver kicking it across the floor, Sparks was almost giddy with excitement.

"What the hell…" Boze leaned down and snatched up the revolver. "Hey, isn't this Cobb's gun?"

Nina's hands flew to her mouth, too late to silence a gasp. Her fearful eyes sought out Calleigh.

Even his fear of the redhead couldn't silence him this time. "It sure is!" Linney's stellar performance was one of absolute perfection. Just the right measure of excitement paired with shock in his tone. "What's it doing in here? The marshal needs to know this – don't you thinks so Boze?"

Boze turned the gun over studying the handle. Confusion led his gaze from the weapon, to Calleigh and back to the weapon. "Little Doc?"

Calleigh cast a supportive glance at Nina but she had to agree. "Yes, he needs to know."

"I'll get him." Linney literally disappeared from the room. Only his voice could be heard yelling at Matt to come inside the cook shack. Lew was trailing close behind the marshal as he entered the kitchen. "Boze, Linney says you found something?"

"Marshal, I think this is Cobb's gun. He had that fancy handle with his initials and …" Boze turned the gun over as he handed it to Matt. "…well, that sure looks like em."

Matt looked to his daughter for help. "Calleigh, did you see what happened?"

Her hesitation was slight but obvious. "It was lying behind that barrel and Boze accidentally kicked it out onto the floor."

"Do you know how it got there?" All eyes suddenly turned toward Nina. Calleigh was quick to take a stand beside her friend. She slipped an arm around her for support.

"Marshal I've never seen that gun before." Nina could not stop her body from trembling. She had always feared that sooner or later, her past would come back to haunt her.