(Note – I'm not sure the Nol Prosequi (a prosecutor declining to prosecute someone) was available to prosecutors in California in the 1870s since it looks like it might have been revoked by statute in 1851, but I am letting them have it for the sake of this story)

Nol Pros

Chapter 1

"Well, I don't know where he's gotten to," Nick said as the family – absent Jarrod - made its way from the parlor to the dining room for dinner. "He didn't say anything about being late tonight."

"Things come up," Victoria said. "I'm sure he'll come in later and fill us in in the morning."

"I really need to talk to him," Nick said. "That deal I've got in the works for more land for vineyards isn't gonna close itself. I need the paperwork drawn up."

"I think you'd know how to draft those things yourself by now, Nick," Heath said. "How much vineyard land have you bought in the past couple years?"

"Not enough to make me like the paperwork," Nick said. "That's Jarrod's job. That's how he earns his keep around here."

"Earns his keep?" Audra said. "I wasn't aware our oldest brother was just an employee."

"Everybody around here earns his keep," Nick said as they all sat down. "Rule number 1 on a working ranch."

"I thought rule number 1 was family comes first," Audra said with a smirk.

Nick replied with a fake snarl.

"He'll get to you as soon as he can, I'm sure," Victoria said.

They went on with dinner, half expecting Jarrod to come in the door at any time, but even after coffee, even after it was time to get to bed, Jarrod wasn't there. Nick was irritated, but no one was really worried. Jarrod coming home very late was nothing new. They'd see him in the morning.

Except they didn't see him in the morning. When they gathered for breakfast, Jarrod did not come down.

"He's probably oversleeping," Victoria said after they had said grace. "If he came in late, he wouldn't be ready to get up at five o'clock."

"Mother, I don't think he ever came in," Heath said.

"I'll go check on him," Nick said, and in a minute or so he was knocking at Jarrod's door.

When he didn't get an answer, Nick opened the door quietly, in case Jarrod was still asleep. He wasn't. He was not there, and his bed had not been slept in.

Nick was still more irritated than worried. Jarrod would probably either be home by dinner or would send word as to where he was and what he was up to. But when Nick got back down to the dining room and said, "He didn't come home last night," Victoria looked a bit uneasy.

"Not at all?" Victoria asked.

"I wouldn't worry, Mother," Nick said as he sat back down. "You know how he can get when he gets to working. It can suddenly be the middle of the night and he ends up just sleeping in his office or at the hotel."

"I suppose," Victoria said, "but if he isn't home this evening, perhaps you'd better check on him."

Nick and Heath gave each other looks. It was possible that big brother had spent his night somewhere other than his office or a hotel, but they wouldn't speculate about that in front of their mother or sister, even if neither of the women had any illusions about the extracurricular activities of the Barkley men. But neither Nick nor Heath was aware of any woman in Jarrod's life. Sometimes they wished there were one – there hadn't been one since Beth - but then, they knew how secretive Jarrod could be about his women. For all they knew, there was someone he was seeing regularly, and they just didn't know about her.

But Nick said, "All right. We'll head into town after dinner if he hasn't come in."

He didn't come in.

XXXXXXX

Victoria was worried now, in part because she could tell Nick and Heath were worried. As she saw them off at the door after dinner, she said, "I'll stay up until you get back."

They each gave her a kiss. "Don't worry, Mother," Nick said. "We'll track him down and haul him home, even if he brings a boxload of work with him."

"He works too hard," Victoria said. "We've got to break him of that habit before he works himself into exhaustion."

"We've tried and failed at that, Mother," Heath said. "He just gets dug in so deep sometimes that he can't stop."

"Nevertheless, bring him home tonight," Victoria said.

They each nodded and hurried off.

They did not talk much as the rode into town. There was no moon, so the light was pretty faint. They had to be extra careful to concentrate on where they were going, to avoid ruts and other obstacles. They made it into Stockton a little later than they otherwise would have, but the saloons were still lively. They headed straight for Jarrod's office.

There was no light on there. They tried the door anyway and it was locked tight. Wherever he was, he wasn't in his office. "Let's try the hotel and then Big Annie's and his regular saloons," Nick said.

"We'll be here all night," Heath said.

They went to the hotel and found out that Jarrod was not registered there. Big Annie hadn't seen him either. That sent them to Harry's saloon, with plans to hit all Jarrod's other regular haunts before they tried to find the sheriff. Luckily, the sheriff was coming out of Harry's as they were coming in.

"Fred," Nick said in greeting.

"Evening, boys," the sheriff said to them. "What brings you to town this late?"

"Our wayward big brother," Nick said. "Have you seen him?"

"Not since yesterday afternoon when he was heading home," the sheriff said.

Nick and Heath looked at each other, both of them suddenly cold. "Yesterday?" Heath asked.

"Yeah, about four," Sheriff Madden said. "I talked to him a bit. He said he was going home."

Nick and Heath scowled at each other now.

"Don't tell me he didn't make it there," Sheriff Madden said.

"Not last night, not all day today," Heath said.

"He's not seeing anybody that you know of, is he, Fred?" Nick asked.

Sheriff Madden shook his head. "Not that I know of, but you know how he can be about his women."

"Yeah, too damned quiet," Nick said.

"What do you want to do, Nick?" Heath asked. "Keep looking?"

"I don't think we're gonna find him," Nick said.

"I'm making rounds," Sheriff Madden said. "If I see him, I'll let him know you're looking for him."

"He didn't look uneasy about anything when he left yesterday, did he, Fred?" Heath asked.

The sheriff shook his head. "No, not at all."

"We better head home," Nick said. "Mother will be worried about all three of us if we don't. Fred, we'll come see you tomorrow, regardless."

"Good," Sheriff Madden said. "If Jarrod turns up, I'd like to know about it before I organize a search party."

"Let's deal with that tomorrow if we have to, Fred," Nick said.

Nick and Heath left the sheriff to continue his rounds then, but for a moment they just stood in the street near their horses. "We better get going, Nick," Heath said. "If we're lucky, he'll be home waiting for us."

Nick shook his head. "He won't be there. I don't know where he is, but it's not at home. Something's going on. I don't know if he's behind it or somebody's grabbed him, but he's gone."