Chapter 8

"Wait," Heath said. "Hogan said he didn't have enough to arrest Jarrod on, and if there's been a murder in Stockton while Jarrod wasn't here, he's got even less. How is he gonna take him off to jail in San Francisco if even he doesn't think he has enough on him?"

"He's been in touch with the district attorney in San Francisco and the state of California is gonna issue state charges even if the evidence is scanty for a federal case, and there's one other thing that's come up," Springer said. "I'm here waiting for the northbound to come up from Modesto. Somebody in Modesto now says they saw Jarrod kill the victim there, a man named Phil Clyburn, some fellow who ran a hotel."

Nick and Heath both erupted at once. "What?" Nick blurted.

Springer raised a hand, trying to quiet them down.

"Modesto happened a while ago, and now somebody's coming forward?" Heath asked.

"It's fishy, I agree, that's why we sent the Pinkerton agent down there to check it out," Springer said. "He's supposed to be back here on the northbound this evening."

Nick and Heath looked at each other, anger and near panic running between them. "You can't think for a minute Jarrod killed somebody in Modesto even if somebody says they saw him," Nick said.

Springer hesitated. "I don't know what's going on. That's why we sent Pinkerton down. What I think has to take a back seat to what the government can prove, and right now, we're still coming to understand what the government can prove. If somebody in Modesto is gonna testify against Jarrod, yes, that's a giant problem, but if we can connect the killing here in Stockton to those killings elsewhere, it's less of a problem, because we know Jarrod was not here when that killing occurred."

"How do we get more than 48 hours out of Hogan?" Heath asked.

"That's what I'm hoping Pinkerton brings up from Modesto," Springer said. "If we can rule out this witness down there, Hogan is back to having evidence that isn't much. Then, if we can connect the killing here to the killings elsewhere, including Modesto – Hogan will have nothing at all."

"What if we can't do those things?" Heath asked. "What if we can't rule out the witness in Modesto or connect the killing here to the others?"

"What do you and Jarrod plan to do then?" Nick asked.

Springer hesitated again. Thoughts were percolating inside him, thoughts he hadn't yet shared with Jarrod so he couldn't share them with anyone else. But he said, "Jarrod and I still have to talk about that."

Nick and Heath wanted to stick around until the Pinkerton agent came in from Modesto, but Springer told them he had to talk confidentially to the man. He couldn't share anything with them until he'd talked to Jarrod. Unhappy about it, Nick and Heath got horses from the livery and went home anyway.

Victoria, Jarrod and Audra had already gathered for drinks by the time they got there. Victoria was the first to start pressing for information. What did they find out in Rimfire and Carson City? Did they see Springer in Stockton? Nick and Heath gave her quick but simple answers and took their things upstairs to clean up. When they came back down, the rest of the family was still there in the parlor, Victoria and Audra looking anxious.

Jarrod looking remarkably calm, even as Nick and Heath explained things in more detail. The first time Jarrod even spoke up was after Nick and Heath had told everything they could tell about Rimfire, Carson City and Springer. Jarrod said simply, "I didn't kill the victim in Stockton. I was right here."

"Springer didn't tell us who it was got killed, and we were too wound up to ask," Heath said.

Jarrod said, "A woman. She used to work for Big Annie but she went off to work for herself. I defended her on a theft charge about two months ago. Her name was Lila Burke."

Heath just said, "If her killing is connected to the others – if whoever is doing this just didn't realize you hadn't been in town – that's gonna take a lot of weight from Hogan off you, Jarrod."

"Yes," Jarrod said, "unless we can't connect it up and whoever this witness in Modesto is puts it right back on me. Regardless, if Hogan is going to arrest me, I won't give him any trouble. I'll go to San Francisco and leave Nat and Pinkerton – and all of you – to keep investigating for me. I'm not giving up."

"Springer's been staying here, hasn't he?" Nick asked.

Jarrod nodded. "He's gonna want to talk to the Pinkerton agent alone for a bit though after he gets in from Modesto. I don't know how late it will be before he gets back."

Silas came in then and said, "Dinner is ready, Mrs. Barkley."

"Let's eat," Jarrod said, almost enthusiastically. "Whatever else we find out tonight, I want to find it out on a full stomach."

Nick gave his older brother a slap on the back as they headed for the dining room. Jarrod read it correctly – encouragement and belief.

"I didn't murder anyone, Nick, in Stockton or Modesto or anywhere else," Jarrod said. "Hogan can't prove I did, because I didn't."

XXXXXXX

Midnight rolled around, and Springer had not yet returned from Stockton. Nick and Heath offered to go look for him, but Jarrod shook his head. "You two are beat. What I need for you to do is get rested tonight. We have a rough 48 hours coming up – or maybe I should say you do, because you have to do the leg work. I can't leave here. You, and Nat Springer, and Pinkerton – I have to rely on you. I need you two to be able to take care of me. I need you two to rest tonight and be ready to dive back in in the morning."

"Jarrod's right," Audra's voice came from the stairwell. She had gone to bed earlier, but never slept.

Jarrod sighed. "Honey, I need you to get some rest too. I've heard you get up a couple of times over the last few nights. If things don't go my way over the next few days, I'm gonna need your help."

"You know I'll do anything I can," Audra said and came closer

Jarrod reached for her hand, smiling as best he could. "The first thing I'll need you to do is look after Mother. This is gonna be hard on her and I don't want her thinking she's bearing it alone."

"Oh, hang that, Jarrod," came the alto from the balcony upstairs. Victoria was on her way down too, and as she came, she said, "The last thing you need to worry about is me, and Audra. We'll support each other while the rest of you are working on this, and we'll be working on lining up those character witnesses you might need." Victoria stopped where her family was grouped, just under the arch between the foyer and the living room. "We all have work to do to get through this. Not a one of us is going to sit around on our hands, even if Marshal Hogan arrests you and takes you to San Francisco."

The front door opened, startling all of them, but it was Nat Springer coming in. He was taking his hat off as he closed the door behind him. "I'm sorry I'm so late," he said. "The northbound train from Modesto ran late."

"Is Davis with you?" Jarrod asked. The Pinkerton man.

Springer shook his head. "No, he took a hotel room in town. Right now, Jarrod – I'd like to talk privately to you."

The rest of the family didn't like that much, but they were family to a lawyer and they understood the need for confidentiality between a man and his lawyer. Victoria said, "Why don't the rest of us get to bed? We can all talk in the morning after breakfast and plan out what we'll be doing over the next two days. Come on."

Victoria herded her children back of the stairs, except for Jarrod who gave her a grateful smile. Jarrod said to Springer, "Let's go talk in the library," and they went off as everyone else disappeared upstairs. Only Nick watched them go.

As soon as they got into the library, Jarrod headed for the refreshment table. "Do you want a brandy, Nat?" he asked.

"I could use one," Springer said with a sigh.

"I get the feeling I could too," Jarrod said, poured some brandy into a snifter and handed it to Springer. As he poured his own, he said, "Spit it out. What did Davis say?"

"He talked to the witness in Modesto," Springer said. "He showed him a photo of you. One thing that's lucky for us is that the photo was just from your shoulders up. The witness said he couldn't be sure it was you he saw from the picture and that was all he said to Pinkerton. He wouldn't give Davis anything else at all. He'll come for Hogan, if Hogan gets a subpoena, but he wouldn't come with Davis."

"Did he say why he's just coming forward now?"

"He says he's been out of town and he didn't realize what he was seeing until he got back and found out the victim was dead. When he got back to town a couple days ago and found out about the killing, he went right to the sheriff and the sheriff filled him in on Hogan's investigation."

"Do you have a name for this witness?" Jarrod asked.

"Yeah," Springer said. "A local rancher, name of Walt Dormer."

Jarrod shook his head disappointedly. "I never heard of the man. What do you know about him?"

"Just what Davis found out. He's a local rancher, about your age. Davis is having Pinkerton look into his background but he doesn't have much yet. Dormer just wasn't willing to talk to him."

"I need to see this Dormer," Jarrod said.

"Like I said, he'll come up here if Hogan subpoenas him, and after I talk to Hogan in the morning, he'll probably do that. I'm gonna try to get him to do that rather than take you down there - he has to pay and one train fare is cheaper than two. I'm hoping that will buy us more time before he arrests you and hauls you off to San Francisco. But, Jarrod, we have to think ahead. We have to have plans in place for whatever happens over the next few days, or doesn't happen. And I'm thinking about the long term, especially if things go bad for us and we can't get you off the hook on the evidence."

"All right, I'm listening," Jarrod said.

"I want to talk very frankly, and you might not like what I have to say, but we have to consider all the angles."

Jarrod nodded. "Talk."

Then Springer took a deep breath and said, "We have to consider the possibility that the evidence will show you actually did do this."