A/N: Up next is Emily. Not much to say about this one, another classic Joe episode. He really needed to start using his head where women were concerned; he'd have stayed out of a lot of trouble. I did make a command decision that Annie was present when Joe stayed with the Parkers in Monterey and met Emily. Needless to say, the two did not get along, hence Annie's deeply antagonistic response when the woman appears out of the blue. Barbs will fly, and there will be lasting repercussions from this episode down the line that will become clear later on. It's probably not what you think, but feel free to guess or throw suggestions my way.
As always, I don't own Bonanza, or any series dialogue, settings, etc, only my OC. Enjoy!
Also, I deeply apologize for the lack of line breaks in this story. i just figured out that when I upload each chapter, the site loses my formatting and I need to go back in and adjust it before I post the chapter. As I have time, I will go back and fix the previous chapters so they're easier to read.
"There you are, Marshal." Roy brought over a mug of coffee and set it on the desk in front of Marshal Calhune.
"Thank you."
"You can borrow my office, and any help me or my deputies can give you. If you'll excuse me, I've got a few things to take care of down the street."
"Of course. Very kind of you."
Roy smiled at Annie as he headed for the door. "I still got plenty of paper weights, missy." His eyes twinkled. Despite being long grown up, she still loved to perch on the edge of his desk, a habit dating back to when she was a child. Beside her, Candy chuckled under his breath. She pinned him with a glare and he shook his head.
"Well, hi there, Joe."
"Hi, Roy." Annie went on alert. He didn't sound right. She looked over her shoulder and studied her twin carefully as he made his way to the desk.
"Oh, Marshal, my son, Joseph. Joe, Marshal Calhune."
"Nice to meet you." He wouldn't look her in the eye. What had he done between here and the saloon that he felt he had to hide? She threw a glance at Hoss, but all he did was shrug. The marshal cleared his throat. "Now, what's said here is not to be repeated outside of this office. Is that understood?" They all nodded, but Annie couldn't take her attention of her brother. He almost looked like he'd seen a ghost. "It concerns a currency shipment, $90,000, from the mint in San Francisco to the Virginia City Bank. Now, word might have leaked out about this, so we're taking some unusual precautions. We're using an ordinary buckboard with two men, driver and a guard." He unrolled a map across Roy's desk. "If you'll look at the map here …" They all moved closer. "They'll be leaving Truckee from the south, and with your permission, turn here, take that private road of yours all the way across the Ponderosa, and come into Virginia City from the west."
"Long way around, huh?" Her pa studied the map and nodded slowly. "The boys and Annie will patrol that road, make sure there's no strangers around."
"That was my next request. Then my deputy, Wade McPhail will make the final sweep."
"Well, we'll be waiting. Anything else?"
"That's it."
"Fine. Let's go." Ben waved them to the door, but Joe didn't move. Annie stopped beside him and nudged his arm.
"You coming?" He jumped and looked around.
"Yeah." He grabbed his hat and followed them outside, looking decidedly … off. The four of them stood on the boardwalk to wait for Ben and Hoss crossed his arms.
"What's the matter with you, anyhow?"
"Nothing. Nothing. I'm fine."
"Sure you are," Annie muttered. "You always look half out of it when you're fine."
"You know," Candy said with a quick glance at Joe. "He does look a little dazed. You get kicked by a mule, buddy?" Joe huffed out a laugh.
"No, I didn't get kicked by a mule." He looked up at Hoss. "Guess who I just saw?" Their brother frowned and Annie ran through a list of names that might give him that look.
"Who?"
"Emily Anderson," he said softly, and she stiffened. Oh, no. Not that adventure chasing, head in the clouds, flighty, girl. No one had been happier than her when the little twit never answered Joe's letters. If she'd been stuck with that girl for a sister-in-law, she'd have been sorely disappointed in her twin's intelligence.
"Here, in Virginia City?" she managed to squeak out just as their pa closed the door behind him. Joe nodded and Ben frowned.
"Twenty minutes ago, in front of the Mercantile."
"Did I hear you say Emily Anderson?"
"Yeah. She's in town, She's gonna live here. I'll tell you about it on the way home." He turned his hat over in his hands and started down the street. Ben gave them all the look and hurried after him. Hoss shook his head and followed them. Candy touched her arm.
"Uh, who's Emily Anderson?"
"A girl Joe met down in Monterey about five years ago." She couldn't stop the disgust from leaking into her voice. "He wanted to marry her. Pa wrote a letter inviting the whole family to come up for a visit, but it came back unopened. He never heard from her again." And good riddance.
"You didn't like her."
"No." Annie stepped off the boardwalk and headed for the horses. "She was too … impulsive, but … scheming. She was always out for herself."
"Then why send the letter back unopened?"
"Personally, I think her father had a lot to do with that. He always gave me the feeling he didn't like Joe that much, no matter that he was a Cartwright."
"Well, if I had an impulsive daughter, I wouldn't want her marrying an equally impulsive man. Can you imagine the trouble?"
"Too easily." Candy laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders.
"They still plan on going to that lecture tonight?"
"All except Pa. He said he didn't care to look at slides of a dead king's belongings." Mrs. Smith stepped out of the Mercantile, took one look at Candy's arm around her and sniffed, raising her nose so high she'd drown if it decided to rain. Annie gave her a tight smile in reply and kept walking. Candy chuckled under his breath.
"I saw her through the window and couldn't resist," he said softly. "So, what gave Joe such an interest in Egypt?"
"He sees it as a good way to meet women." They shared a laugh as they reached the horses, then mounted up and rode home, regaled the whole trip by Joe's excited recital of his meeting with Emily. Annie rolled her eyes.
"I couldn't believe my eyes, Pa. It was like we were back in Monterey again. I knew it was her from across the street."
"Well, did she explain why she never responded to your letters?" Ben glanced sideways. To Annie, her twin looked almost reluctant to answer for a second.
"We didn't have time to do more than say hello, she had to finish her shopping." Now, why didn't she believe that?
"Maybe you'll see her tonight at the lecture." Joe brightened.
"Yeah, yeah, maybe."
Oh, she hoped not. If she had to sit there for an hour and a half and listen to them carry on, she'd be mighty tempted to bury Joe in a pyramid of his own.
"The burial chamber is located in the center of the Great Pyramid and it is here that the mummy of the Pharaoh Khufu, or as the Greeks called him, Cheops, was laid to rest with all the treasure and plunder of his reign." The short, balding professor indicated the slide on the screen that showed a forbidding looking stone door. "I visited the chamber, that dark, oppressive room, lit only by torches, long since looted of all its wealth, weighed down by tons of masonry." Joe shifted in his chair and Annie threw him a look. Candy shook his head and squeezed her hand. Hoss ignored all of them, totally engrossed in the lecture.
"May I have the next slide, please?" His assistant fiddled with the lantern and the image of a woman dressed in a heavy looking gown and veils appeared on the screen. The professor folded his hands behind his back. "One of the women of Cairo. They always go about in public totally veiled. If I had so much as caught a glimpse of her face, it would have meant instant death." The rest of the crowd whispered furiously. Annie rolled her eyes and straightened her skirt. So, they'd kill him for looking at her face, but not for taking her picture?
The screen faded to black and the lantern popped. His assistant leaned over the machine and adjusted something. He looked up. "I've got to stop for a few minutes, Doctor." The professor lowered his pointer with a sigh.
"We have to pause, ladies and gentlemen, to make some adjustment in the mechanism. Would someone turn on the house lights, please?" The lamps were turned up and Candy hopped out of his chair to take a closer look at the mechanism they'd called a magic lantern. Her brothers kept their seats and Hoss shook his head.
"Can you imagine that, piling up all them rocks just to bury yourself? Really something."
"I guess if you've got nothing better to do with the money," Annie said with a shrug. Joe, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention. She followed his gaze to the back of the room and drew in a sharp breath.
Emily Anderson.
The blond caught her looking and ducked out the door. "I'll be back in a minute." Joe stood up and headed towards the back, not even noticing she'd seen him. Annie bit back a huff and fiddled with her lace handkerchief. That little minx was at it again.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, what do you think?" She gestured at the door. "He saw her and off he went."
"Well, little sister, he did go five years without seeing her."
"Good riddance." Hoss rubbed his chin.
"I wasn't there when you two stayed with the Parkers, so I didn't meet her and I can't say one way or another about nothing. I know you don't act like that normally, so for the sake of argument, we'll agree she is bad for little brother."
"She is."
"Okay. Why?"
"I can't put it into words very well. It's just a feeling I'd get every time she looked up at him with that simpering little smile on her face and those big blue eyes staring at him like he hung the moon."
"Ah! You don't want to share."
"I don't want him to fall for a pretty face and wind up tied for life to the wrong woman. And believe me, Emily Anderson is the wrong woman. She's too flighty, too absorbed with adventure, and how romantic she thinks everything should be to realize there's more to getting married than a wedding."
"She's still young, maybe she'd grow."
"And maybe not."
The magic lantern flickered and the assistant motioned to the professor. "We're ready to continue, ladies and gentlemen. The next slide, if you please." The lamps dimmed and a giant stone structure appeared on the screen. "In the spring, this great temple is almost totally submerged by the floodwaters of the Nile." Candy slipped back into his seat and looked around. "In fact, here you see a native boat –"
"Where's Joe?" he whispered.
"Out," Annie hissed. Hoss tossed them both looks that said shut up.
"Moored in the gateway of the very temple you just saw. Next slide, please." He smiled when the building – another temple maybe? – appeared on the screen. "One of the greatest edifices ever erected in the history of man." Before he could tell them anymore, footsteps pounded into the room.
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Joe Cartwright's having a fight with some fella out here in the street!" Hoss and Candy jumped up, her right on their heels as half the room rushed outside.
"I guarantee you she's at the bottom of this," she hissed as they ran. Outside, a ring had gathered around her brother and the stranger. And sure enough, Emily sat nearby in a buggy, watching them fight, her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip.
Joe knocked the stranger to the ground and the man drew his gun. "Uh-uh." Candy drew his, aiming for the man's head. Emily's face fell and she stared at the dirt. Annie's eyes narrowed.
"Put it down." Marshal Calhune arrived on the scene and jerked his chin at Candy, who holstered his gun. The stranger got to his feet, the marshal watching him with thinly-veiled disgust. "McPhail, go down to the office and wait for me."
"Wait a minute." Joe stepped forward. "I wanna find out what this is all about." The man, McPhail, she reminded herself, gave her brother a triumphant stare.
"I'll tell you what this is all about." He pointed at Emily. "That's my wife." Annie's jaw dropped. Stunned silence met his announcement. He marched through the circle and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the buggy and leading her away. Candy and Hoss, even the marshal turned to look at Joe, but Annie had eyes for only one person. McPhail pulled Emily even with her, their eyes met, and the words fell from her mouth before she could stop them.
"You little hussy." McPhail jerked like he'd been stung and froze in his tracks. He turned around real slow and looked her up and down.
"You don't get to call my wife names. If you can't keep your husband, that's your failing." Shock dropped her jaw again.
"If he couldn't keep me, it's his failure." Half the men in the crowd burst out laughing, Hoss and Candy included. Joe, on the other hand, stepped forward with death in his eyes.
"Apologize to my sister, right now." It was McPhail's turn to drop his jaw in shock.
"Your sister –"
"Yes, my sister. I'm not married." His gaze flicked to Emily and anything friendly he might have felt towards her before was gone, his eyes reflecting only disgust. "Unlike your wife who neglected to mention that she was. If I'd known, I'd have said hello and walked away." Emily's face crumpled, but Annie couldn't conjure up the slightest bit of sympathy. "Now, apologize."
"I'm … I'm terribly sorry, Ms. Cartwright."
"I accept your apology, Mr. McPhail." He nodded once, turned, and practically dragged his wife down the street towards Roy's office. Joe stared after them a minute, then walked away in the opposite direction.
"Well, Mrs. Cartwright," Candy said between laughs. "Shall we finish the lecture or did you want to end the evening early?" She struck his arm with her hand bag, but he only laughed harder.
"I don't know about you two, but I want to see some more of those slides Professor Stebbins has. I'm going on back inside. Give little brother some time to cool down." Hoss left them.
"I knew she was trouble. Only one kind of woman doesn't tell an old beau she's married."
"Maybe we ought to just go on back to the ranch. With all the temples and burial chambers and mummies and stuff he's got pictures of, you might get too many ideas."
"I don't need ideas. I need to not chase that hussy down the street and rip her hair out by the roots for treating my brother like that." Candy laughed and turned her around so they could head back inside.
"I'm surprised you don't want to shoot her."
"Maybe I want to rip her hair out first so she's ugly. Then I'll shoot her." He turned them around again, making a beeline for the Ponderosa buggy.
"Definitely back to the ranch."
"Why?"
"Because when you get like that, it's only a matter of time." He helped her into the buggy, then untied the horse and climbed in beside her. He backed the mare from the hitch rail. "Besides, a drive might cool you off before you think too much."
"About what he said, you mean?" She huffed under her breath. "Too late for that." It was all she could think about now that the adrenaline had faded. She licked her lips and stared down at her hands. "Why … why would …" She let it trail off. Even when it was the best friend she had, she couldn't ask him that question. Candy laid his hand over hers and squeezed gently.
"Why would he look at you and assume you were Joe's wife and unable to keep her husband from straying?" She looked up at him in the moonlight, a sharp breath catching in her lungs as she nodded slowly. "I don't know, sweetheart. Maybe … maybe it wasn't that he was trying to hurt you as much as he was trying to convince himself that Joe wouldn't have been with his wife if he was happily married," he said after several minutes of silence.
"But we're twins, Candy. He had to see the resemblance."
"To be fair, it is dark, and the two of you aren't identical. If he hadn't just been in a fight, he'd have probably noticed."
"But –"
"If they're new to town, he's not going to be familiar with everyone yet, and if he wife didn't tell Joe she was married, I doubt she told her husband her almost fiance had a sister. Maybe she didn't tell him Joe lived here, or that they'd once talked marriage. Maybe she didn't even tell him about Joe at all."
"Maybe." She lowered her gaze to her hands. Candy sighed heavily and tugged her closer, his arm sliding around her shoulders.
"Come here. I can't stand it when you get like this, you're very un-Annie. Should I go find us a cabin full of outlaws or a shoot out?" She laughed without humor and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Just drive, Canaday."
"Any signs?" Candy reined Scout up next to Reno. "They're late." Annie glanced over her shoulder. That shipment should have been rolling past any time now.
"Yeah. Wonder what's keeping them?"
"Don't know. The road ahead is clear as can be."
A gun shot rang out, freezing them both as still as statues. They shared a knowing look and booted their mounts into a dead run. Within minutes, they joined up with Hoss riding hard back down the road.
"Where'd it come from?" he called over, and Candy pointed up ahead. Three more shots rang out in quick succession – their danger signal – then a fourth that doubled Annie over her saddle with a sharp cry. Candy lunged for Reno's bridle, dropping Scout's reins to grab for his gun. Hoss drew his weapon, already scanning their surroundings.
"I'm fine," she gasped, her heart pounding double time as she straightened. "It's Joe." Pain and fear had shot down their connection, then it had gone dim. "He needs help."
"Let's get moving," Hoss said grimly and pushed Chub for everything the horse had. They thundered down the road, three wide, driven by the panic in Annie's voice. The abandoned buckboard came into view around a bend and they pulled up sharply and jumped down.
A pistol barked and they skidded to a halt, turning to find Wade McPhail drawing down on them. "Throw down your guns, all of you."
"That's my brother," Annie shouted, panic making her voice shaky.
"I know that," McPhail replied. "I'd be stupid not to after the other night. But I don't know you that well, and I'm a careful man." Annie threw her gun to the ground, followed within seconds by Hoss and Candy. McPhail inched over and kicked them out of reach. "Now, go ahead and help him."
"Joe!" Annie lunged, but Candy held her back. "Candy, let go! Please!" But he didn't.
"He alive?" She threw Candy a livid glare, but he still didn't let go.
"Barely," Hoss said. "He's hurt bad. We gotta get him to a doctor and in a hurry."
"We will." She glanced at McPhail, found him still holding a gun on them. Candy squeezed her arm, but she didn't look away from Joe.
"It occurs to me," their foreman said acidly, "that you're an awful long way from where you're supposed to be." McPhail nodded slowly.
"So was Joe Cartwright." They all stilled and looked at him as he held up a money bag. "And so was this."
"If anyone had cause to do this, it's you," Annie spit. "You hate my brother because your worthless little wife wants him instead of you. Maybe you shot all of them so you could give that money to your precious Emily!"
"Now ain't the time for this," Hoss broke in. "Candy, help me get him in the buckboard. Annie, get to town and get Doc Martin out to the house."
"But –"
"I know you don't want to leave him, but you ride like Paiutes is on your tail anyhow, so get moving." Candy released her and she ran for the horses, tears spilling down her face. She scooped up her pistol and leaped into the saddle, drove Reno into a full gallop from a dead stop, not even bothering to pick up her stirrups. She aimed the gelding's nose cross-country, plunging through the scrub and over hills and gullies. The road might be smoother, but she'd have to circle around Virginia City, then back in, making for a longer trip.
And Joe may not have that extra time.
Annie's heart raced like a wild stallion and her hands shook on the reins. Joe. They couldn't lose him, sure he was irritating, but what brother wasn't? He'd be fine … he had to be. It wasn't like he hadn't been shot before.
Reno clattered up onto the road leading into town from the southeast and she pounded her boots against his flanks, begging for more speed.
The last time she'd driven a horse this hard, it had been for Candy.
She flew into town, streaking past people on the street in a cloud of dust, and reined up in front of Doc Martin's. "Doc!" She jumped down and ran inside, gasping for breath. "Joe's been shot, you have to come now! Hurry!"
The doctor shot to his feet and pushed back his chair hard enough to overturn it. He snatched his bag and darted out the door without waiting for an explanation. She sucked in a choking breath and ran back outside. Doc Martin was already climbing into his buggy that he left tied at the hitch rail in front of his office for times like this. She mounted up and took off down the road, racing back to the Ponderosa, the dim connection to Joe faint, but still there. If it disappeared, she didn't know what she'd do. Reno's sides were heaving and the grulla was close to stumbling by the time they got back to the house. Annie slid from the saddle and lead the horse to the barn while Doc ran inside. A hand met her and took Reno's reins without a word, tension etched on his face. She nodded thanks, her throat too tight to say a word right then. He nodded back and began to unsaddle the grulla. She drew in a shaky breath and ran for the house, busting through the door to find Hoss and Candy hovering in the main room.
"Doc just went upstairs." Hoss shifted his weight. "Probably be a while before we know anything. Come on, sit down, you look like you're about to fall over." He crossed the room and guided her over to her ma's settee. She sat down hard and buried her face in her hands, smothering a choked sob. "Now, calm down. Getting all tore up won't help him none. I'll have Hop Sing fix some coffee." Hoss squeezed her shoulder and headed for the kitchen. Candy sat down on the center table and stared at his hands.
"I didn't want you be the one to … if he was …" He swallowed hard. Annie sucked in a shaky breath and rubbed her swollen eyes.
"I know," she choked out, fresh tears sliding down her face as she looked up into his stormy eyes. He nodded and they sat in silence until Hoss returned with the coffee. He handed her a cup and she wrapped her hands around it, but didn't move to drink, just staring into the steaming, black liquid.
Minutes ticked by, then an hour, and her coffee turned stone cold. Hoss cleared his throat. "You know, how old is that pony of yours anyhow?"
"If you're trying to distract me, it won't work."
"Well, I kind of was, but I'm still curious."
"What was he, five or six when I begged Pa to cut him out of that bunch of bachelors up on the ridge?" she said at last, still staring into her cold coffee, her heart pounding in dread, fear tasting metallic on her tongue.
"That's about what we figured at the time. I know you was knee high to a grasshopper, convinced you were too old for your pony and ready for a real horse."
"I was twelve." Her brother frowned a moment, mouthing numbers to himself.
"That'd make old Reno … at least twenty by now."
"At least."
"You got a wild mustang for your first real horse?" Candy cracked a grin. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Nothing the horse trader could get his hands on would do. Little sister had her heart set on a very specific horse, said she'd know it when she saw it."
Hoss chuckled. "About killed a hand trying to break that stubborn beast, but she wouldn't be swayed."
"He's the best horse on the place," Annie said tiredly. "Still running when the rest of 'em have played out."
"You're not wrong there, and that's a fact. That little pony has saved our hides a time or two."
A knock came at the front door and she jumped, spilling her coffee. Candy took the cup from her without a word and went to the kitchen for a towel while Hoss stood to answer the door.
"Oh, hi, Marshal." he stepped back and Marshal Calhune walked inside, McPhail trailing him.
"How's your brother?" They started to say they didn't know, but footsteps on the stairs demanded their attention.
"He's resting," Doc Martin answered for them. "And will be for some time." The marshal turned his hat over in his hands.
"Did he say anything?" Ben cleared his throat.
"Well, he … he was unconscious and has been all along, hasn't said a word."
"I'm sorry. But he will make it, won't he?"
"I'm sure he will." Air gusted from her lungs and she choked on a breath. Candy returned with the towel and mopped up the spilled coffee.
"Well, how soon can I talk to him?"
"Tomorrow maybe. More probably the day after."
"That long?"
"Not even then if he develops a fever. If you'll excuse me, Marshal, I'm rather in need of some food. It's been a long day." He and Ben headed for the kitchen, and the marshal turned his hat over in his hands again, then looked at them.
"You three saw the buckboard?"
"Yeah," Hoss answered for all of them. "We rode out early, went along either side of the road to make sure there was no ambush. We rode all the way from the Grove to Center Road."
"When we saw the buckboard, we got back up off the road a ways, didn't want to make them nervous," Candy said.
"We saw them both," Annie put in. "They waved to me. Seemed fine then."
"Joe was … oh, ten, twenty minutes behind us." Candy looked up at the marshal, a hard glint in his eyes. "And your deputy was supposed to be the same distance behind him."
"If you went all the way to the Grove, you went past the place where it happened."
"Right by it." Hoss frowned. "Matter of fact, didn't we flush them crows right about in there?"
"Yeah, if there'd been anybody around, the crows would have been long gone." Candy sat down on the arm of the settee. Annie threw a quick glance at the kitchen, but her pa wasn't in sight.
"Matches what I found out there." Calhune sighed. "Tracks left by a wagon, a team, and five different riders, you, Annie, Hoss, Joe, and my deputy.
Nobody else. Kind of narrows it down to two suspects, my deputy and Joe Cartwright."
"What?" Annie bolted upright on the settee; Candy caught her arm.
"I know Joe Cartwright and I don't know your deputy, so I vote for him." The marshal shrugged.
"With me, it's the other way around. I don't know Joe Cartwright. I do know Wade McPhail. He's worn that badge and worked for me for nine years. Nine years of excellent record." Annie saw red.
"Have you forgotten your deputy was four or five miles from where he was supposed to be? And he has reason to cast blame on my brother because of that woman." Calhune didn't even bat an eye.
"Tell 'em what you told me." McPhail shrugged.
"The buckboard was late."
"It was," Hoss agreed.
"I figured something went wrong and I went to find out." Annie glared at him. He held her gaze a moment, then looked away. Calhujne nodded at the door.
"McPhail, wait for me outside. I'll be with you in a minute." The man didn't look happy about it, but he left. Hoss closed the door behind him and leaned against it. Candy got to his feet, a hard, dangerous glint to his eyes.
"Marshal, I don't know if your deputy shot that driver and the guard or not, but I do know that he tried to shoot Joe Cartwright in the street last night."
"We've heard his story. We haven't heard Joe Cartwright's yet." The marshal looked around at all of them. "And in case you're wondering, I don't believe anything until it's been proven." He headed for the door, then turned around halfway out. "I'll keep an eye on both of them." Hoss closed the door behind him and they all stared at each other, a pool of dread deepening in Annie's stomach.
It only got worse when Calhune returned the next afternoon, demanding to speak with her brother. Ben took one look at the marshal's face and took him upstairs. Annie followed without a word. She didn't like that look in his eyes. The marshal took his hat off and stood at the foot of the bed.
"Hello, Joe. Glad to see you're all right."
"I've had worse," he rasped.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"I was checking the road and I heard shots. I … I saw the buckboard but the … the driver and the guard were lying on the ground, shot." He coughed and Ben poured him some water. 'Thanks, Pa." He drank, only to be interrupted by Calhune.
"Did you see who shot you?"
"No. All I could see was the … was the guard and the driver." He handed the glass back. "I fired the warning shots and … next … next thing I knew, I was here." Doc Martin frowned.
"Two more questions, Marshal, that's all."
"Before the shooting, you talked to Mrs. McPhail. What about?"
"The little witch was probably trying to get him back." He'd told them he'd talked to her after he woke up, but that was all he'd said. Joe glanced down at his lap.
"That's personal. It has nothing to do with the shooting." The marshal straightened, his eyes going dark. Ben glanced at him, then cleared his throat.
"It might be helpful if you did answer."
"She … she wanted to leave her husband." He swallowed hard. "I talked her out of it." They all looked over at the marshal. He looked like he wanted to ask more, based on the muscle ticking in his jaw, but Doc Martin stopped him.
"That's all, Marshal. You can talk more tomorrow." He herded the man away from the bed, and Annie had to applaud his forcefulness.
"All right. I'll be back tomorrow. And I'll keep coming back until I know exactly what happened out there." He left the room and Annie let out a sharp breath. There was something he wasn't saying, something he knew that they didn't.
"Annie, wait for me downstairs, will you?" She nodded and left the room, her mind in a whirl.
So, the little hussy wanted to leave her unimportant husband so she could be Mrs. Joe Cartwright, wife of a prosperous rancher, and have everything her little, black heart desired. Oh, it wasn't going to work, not by a long shot. If the stupid girl thought Joe would have anything to do with her after this, she was … was … Annie wasn't quite sure what Emily was.
"Uh-oh." She looked up and barely avoided crashing into Candy at the top of the stairs. He grinned. "You've got that look again."
"Blame Emily McPhail."
"Annie." Ben came up behind them. "Saddle your horse, we're riding into town to talk to Roy." He ran a hand through his hair. "There's more going on than Calhune wanted to say."
"He'd only know Joe talked to her before the shooting if she or her husband told him. I'd be willing to bet she fed him a passel of lies," Annie hissed.
"That's what we need to find out. Candy, you and Hoss keep an eye on Joe, make sure he doesn't try and get up."
"Of course, Mr. Cartwright."
"Let's go, Annie."
"Roy, has Calhune told you anything more than he's told us? I'm getting the impression he plans to accuse Joe."
"He hasn't told me much of anything, Ben. He's got jurisdiction, not me."
"It happened on the Ponderosa," Annie dropped his paperweight to the desk with a glare. Roy nodded slowly.
"That it did, missy, but when it comes to currency shipments, the marshals are in charge. I'm just a town sheriff." The door opened behind them and Calhune stalked into the office, McPhail on his heels, just like a good lapdog, she supposed.
"They've talked to you, Sheriff?" Calhune asked without hesitation. Roy nodded. "So you know they believe my deputy did this?"
"They told me."
McPhail snorted under his breath and stalked over to the desk, arms crossed over his chest. "Cartwright found the driver and the guard shot, but he didn't see who shot him." His tone of voice said he found that hard to believe. Fire licked at her veins.
"Have you ever been shot before?"
"Yes."
"Can you remember the face of every man that pulled the trigger on you?"
"No." He looked away.
"Wonder why that is?" she said, acid dripping from her voice.
"Anne." She bit her tongue. Calhune glanced at her pa, then McPhail.
"That's right. And there were no strangers out there, that's been established. The driver or the guard might have shot him."
"Or I could have."
"Are you confessing?" He threw her a dark look, then stalked back around the desk to face her pa.
"You Cartwrights are big people around here and I'm just a stranger, and you've got the hangman's knot all but tied."
"That's not true," her pa said evenly. McPhail glanced between them and seemed to make up his mind about something.
"Mr. Cartwright, I've got a question for you. It might throw some light on this. Answer it for me, if you're not afraid to."
"You ask it and I'll answer it."
"You're rich." Annie snorted.
"That's not a question, Deputy."
"Anne." McPhail's lips twitched, but he said nothing about it.
"Would your son be able to lay his hands on enough money to pay for two people to go to South America and keep them living in style for two or three years?"
"No."
"All right." McPhail turned to Calhune. "Take that with what my wife told you, and you've got motive for robbery and murder." What?
"Your wife said she refused to go with Joe Cartwright."
"So she did."
"She's a liar," Annie snarled and jumped off Roy's desk. "I wouldn't believe her if she said the sky was blue!"
"Anne."
"If a man is foolish enough to think a married woman might run off with him, he's a fool enough to think that $90,000 in cold hard cash might persuade her."
"You just described yourself." Annie spit at him. "I saw your hussy at the lecture, she wanted Joe to see her, and follow her outside. She had all the time in the world to tell him she was married, but did she? The little beast is still playing games, only now she's playing them with my brother's life. I bet you anything, Deputy McPhail, that your loose wife is the one who brought up running off together, and South America! Joe's imagination runs only as far as San Francisco, I'm afraid. If she knew him at all, she'd have known that."
"Anne!" Ben shot out of his chair, but she wasn't finished.
"If I were any other woman, I'd pity you." Her pa latched onto her arm.
"Where's that cool head I count on?" He turned his stony gaze on McPhail. "As for you, you can think whatever you want to think. Marshal, I'll see you at the Ponderosa in the morning." He stuffed his hat on his head and marched her outside. "Well, it appears I just thought I had one child with sense."
"Didn't you hear him? She's lying through her blasted teeth! I can't … ooh!" She blew out a disgusted breath. "Sorry, Pa."
"Can you contain yourself while we speak to Mrs. McPhail or do I need to send you on ahead?"
"No promises." Ben heaved a sigh.
"Let's go." They made their way through the streets until they found the McPhail's house. Ben knocked and Emily opened the door, her eyes dimming when she saw them. Had she really thought Joe would be up and running to her? She stepped back and let them in, then hovered near a carved sofa.
"How is he?"
"Better," Ben said shortly.
"And he's going to be all right?"
"Yes." Ben studied her face, then walked over to her. "We came here because I wanted to find out why you lied about my son."
"Mr. Cartwright …" Something flickered in her eyes, but Ben didn't give her a chance to continue.
"I know Joseph." His voice was granite hard. "Why did you lie?"
"He refused to run off with her and she got mad, didn't you?" Annie asked sweetly. The women's eyes met, her added, unspoken hussy loud and clear.
"I didn't say anything that would hurt him."
"Everything you said placed him under suspicion of murder." Her head tilted, eyes confused. "You've painted a picture of an excited young man eager to run off with another man's wife. And those who don't know Joe could very easily believe it. And there are some who could look at you … and find you motive enough for robbery and murder," Ben finished. Annie scoffed under her breath. Only if they wanted a lifetime of trouble.
"Well, I know that's not a compliment."
"It's not," Annie said bluntly. "Stop flattering yourself. How long are you going to stick to that pathetic story?"
"It's not a story."
"Of course it is. We both saw his face after the fight with your husband. You're the one who can't let go, not him. He's finished with your childish games, and your feelings were hurt."
"Can you tell that in court, under oath, with Joe looking at you, listening to you?"
"Cartwright." McPhail slammed the front door behind him and stalked into the parlor. "Stop badgering my wife. And you," he shook his head. "You're something else, you know that?"
"It's been said before," Annie said tartly. "Go away."
"This is my house." Ben cleared his throat.
"All I ask is that you tell the truth." Emily clutched at the sofa back with white-knuckled hands.
"I did!" Ben sighed and moved to the door. McPhail caught his shoulder.
"Calhune took my job, my badge. No surprise. I knew it was gonna happen."
"Well, I didn't. I'm sorry." Annie bit her tongue. She wasn't. That insult … she'd never forget that one. Or forgive it.
"Get out." Ben looked at them.
"I'm sorry for you both." He took her arm and guided her out the door. Annie turned in the doorway before McPhail could close it behind them.
"You deserve each other." The resulting slam was satisfying enough it made up for the scolding she was bound to receive later. Ben tugged her down the street.
"There are times, Anne, that you try my patience."
"I know."
"And there are others that make up for it. She's lying all right. We've just got to get her to admit it, preferably to him first, then he can go to Calhune or Roy."
"How?" They stopped beside the horses and Ben frowned.
"Well, there were no strangers, so it had to be one of four people: Joe, McPhail, the guard, or the driver. We need to go back out there." He glanced behind him at Roy's office. "I'm going to talk to Calhune again, wait here."
They rode back out to the scene the next morning, Joe and Doc Martin in the buggy, with the rest of them surrounding it in a loose ring. Annie threw a glance over her shoulder. McPhail wouldn't be pleased when he found out they'd left him in the dark, and he would find out. Calhune had mentioned he'd seen Emily on the street when he and Roy had left town. Nor had he kept it a secret as to why they were heading out. The buggy hit a rut and Joe grimaced, clutching at his shoulder. She guided Reno even with his seat. "You all right?" He attempted a smile.
"I'm fine."
"All right." She looked back again. If he was guilty, the deputy Roy had left to watch him should be along any time now with news the McPhails had left town.
"Whoa." She turned around, were they here already? Ben climbed off Buck and collected the boots from the buggy and handed them to Calhune. They headed for the hole, leaving Annie, Hoss, and Candy to follow at their own pace. Annie worked her hands. This had to prove he was innocent, it just had to. Candy's hand came to rest at her back and she offered him a shaky smile.
"Soft ground. A man leaning on a shovel makes a good print." Calhune checked the first boot against the print in the overturned dirt. "A little big. Give me the next one." He checked that one, then looked up with a sharp nod.
Hoof beats rang out down the road and they all turned, Annie inhaling in shock. What were they doing here? Why hadn't they run? The McPhails drew rein and tied the horses up to a clump of bushes nearby, then walked over slowly. Emily looked decidedly uncomfortable with the situation. Wade lead the way to the buggy.
"Marshal, Mr. Cartwright, my wife has something to tell you."
"I lied," she said bluntly. "Joe didn't want to go away with me. It was the other way around." Of course it was. "And I could still see him when I heard the shots. He couldn't have killed those men." Annie bit her tongue to keep from saying anything she'd regret. "But Wade didn't do it either."
"We know." Ben straightened. "From the beginning, we knew it could have only been one of four people. Joe said he was never near this hole and we can prove it." McPhail jolted and hurried closer.
"There were boot prints all over the place. I saw them myself."
"Joe's boots don't fit any of them," Annie said. He looked at her, then the marshal, and pointed at the boots in the man's hands.
"And those do?"
"These do."
"Who do they belong to?"
"They belong to the driver, the guard." Calhune held up the boots in turn. "The driver did the digging, and my guess is the guard stood over him with a gun."
McPhail looked shocked. He stepped back and made his way to Joe. "I know it won't help much, but I'm … I'm sorry." Annie looked at Emily, the woman's red, misty eyes betraying how close she was to crying.
"I think we're all sorry for a lot of things," Joe said softly.
"I stand by what I said," Annie hissed under her breath. Emily drew in a shaky breath and walked away. Calhune dug in his pocket and pulled out a badge.
"Wade?"
"Yeah?"
"I think you'll be needing this." He tossed the deputy his badge. Doc Martin cleared his throat.
"Time I got my patient back to the house." Annie bit her tongue again and headed for Reno. The rest of them followed and mounted up. She turned to look, and found Wade and Emily standing near their horses, deep in conversation.
"If he doesn't throw her out, he's a fool," she muttered to Candy. Their foreman looked back over his shoulder at the pair.
"No, sweetheart. He's just a man who loves his wife."