Dillon's voice was soft, gentle, "Food not good tonight, Doc?"
Adams looked into the face of the man he knew so well. "Food's just fine. I'm afraid I'm not too hungry is all, Matt."
Kitty tried to lighten the air slightly. "I hear that Judge Dalton's a fair man, takes everything into consideration."
Doc looked at her darkly. "If by 'everything' you mean my past, Kitty, you can just forget it."
Dillon and Festus exchanged a look, not quite understanding the gist of the conversation. Kitty's eyes flared in anger.
"Now Doc, there's no sense in--"
Adams stood up abruptly, shoving his chair loudly back behind him. "--This is not up for discussion, Kitty. And that's the last we'll speak of it."
"But--"
"--No." He turned to a slightly stunned marshall, "Matt, I wanna see you a minute, please."
The three of them watched the doctor walk into the back part of the jail, where the cells were. Matt stood, and sighed.
"Listen, why don't you two go get a drink at the Longbranch, and I'll meet you over there in a few minutes."
Festus balked, "I ain't leavin' him like this, Matthew, no sir, he's in such a skitterdy state."
Dillon squeezed the man's shoulder. "I need a few minutes with him, Festus."
And still Haggen didn't budge. Kitty stood and brushed a hand over the back of the deputy's head.
"Come on, partner, I'll buy you a beer."
"But Miss Kitty--"
She pulled him up by the arm. "--Come on Festus, Matt's got Doc, don't you worry."
Dillon watched the two of them leave, and then he turned toward the door leading to the cells. He opened it to find Adams pacing in one of them, the door closed, and Matt felt his stomach turn.
"Doc, is there somethin' you haven't told me about this case?"
"Don't you start..."
"Doc, if it's somethin' that could help--"
Adams gripped the bars tightly. "--Matt, let it go. Please." Dillon looked hard into the man's eyes. "Please..."
Dillon felt hot anger at his friend's secretive demeanor, but for the moment, let it drop. "What did you wanna talk about?"
"I want to leave for Hays tonight."
"Tonight?"
"Yes, in the wee hours."
"But Doc--"
"--Matt, I've thought on this a lot. I don't want any good-byes, or fare-the-wells." He tried to swallow down the lump in his throat, but his voice betrayed him. "I don't wanna have to shake Festus' hand, or look into Kitty's eyes with the whole damned town watchin'. I'd like to go quietly, Matt."
"Doc, they're both plannin' on coming up to the trial...so are a lot of other folks." The old man glared hard into the marshall. "There are a lot of people who think an awful lot of you, Doc. There's gonna be no stoppin' 'em."
"Ruth Bradley and the other witnesses already leave for Hays?"
"Yep. They took the evening stage out."
"And if we get there first thing in the morning, by the time folks here in Dodge realize we're gone and get up there, it'll be over." Dillon looked intently into Adams' eyes, and the old man continued, "You know it ain't gonna take that long to convict me."
"Doc! Don't say that."
"Matt, we both know that the evidence against me is overwhelming. There's only my word against Ruth Bradley's, the witnesses from Delmonico's who heard me threaten to kill him, and your testimony to what you saw that night. You and I can keep on lyin' to each other about it, but Matt we both know how it's gonna go."
Dillon's head hung limply down against his chest, his eyes slammed tightly shut. Doc waited several minutes, but the lawman neither moved nor spoke. Finally Adams reached a hand through the bars, and gently touched Matt's arm; when the marshall looked at him, Doc pitched his voice soft and low.
"Please do this one thing for me, Matt. It's all I ask."
The pain in the electric blue eyes was evident. "And what about Kitty and Festus? Do you know how much this will hurt them?"
The piercing gaze of the pale blue was almost too much. "And you think watchin' me hang will hurt them less?"
Dillon's jaw tensed with emotion, and when he spoke, the words were ground out. "We'll leave at three a.m."
Before Doc could say anything more, Dillon stalked out, closing the door behind him.
Festus prattled on, but Kitty had long since ceased to listen. She was concentrating on Matt, who was strangely quiet. It wasn't that she expected him to be in any sense lively, but there was something else. He was holding back.
"...and I jes' cain't figer how in tarnation no shemale in her right mind would wanna hurt ol' Doc nohow...not even if'n the ol' scudder said some thangs he ortn't of, I still cain't put my fingers on it, cuz' it jes' don't make no kinda sense, and I surely know that ol' Doc didn't kill nobody--"
"--Festus!" Kitty put her hand on his arm, and his rambling came to an abrupt halt. She smiled awkwardly, patting him. "I'm sorry, partner, I know you're upset, but--"
"--But I ain't shet my trap since'n we set down."
He looked down, embarrassed, and Kitty rubbed a hand over his shoulders. "Drink your whiskey, Festus, it'll help calm you down." She looked over at Dillon, who was taking a long sip from his glass. "What about you, cowboy? How're you holdin' up?"
He nodded, but he didn't meet her eyes. "Fine, Kitty. Just fine."
"Doesn't seem like it."
He looked into his glass. "What was that business between you and Doc back at the office?"
"Didja ask him about him?"
"He told me to mind my own business."
"I'm sorry Matt, but he's made his wishes pretty clear..."
He leaned in. "But if it could help him..."
"I doubt that it would." She ended the conversation by standing.
"Where are you going?"
"Gonna go see Doc for a minute."
Dillon answered quickly, his voice slightly gruff, "No."
She frowned, staring at him. "No?"
He tried to backpeddle from his abrupt answer. "I'm sorry...I just meant that he's trying to sleep. He's awfully exhausted, Kitty." He downed the rest of his whiskey. "You can see him in the morning."
She sat back down, not sure what to make of his behavior. "All right. Want another drink?"
The marshall shook his head as he stood up. "No thanks. I'm gonna call it a night."
Dillon reached over and pat his deputy on the shoulder. "I'd appreciate it if you'd spend the night up at Doc's tonight, Festus."
Haggen stared up at the big man. "'Spectin' trouble is ya, Matthew?"
"Could be, Festus. Everybody in town's upset over this thing, no tellin' how some of 'em might react. I'd feel better if I knew his place was secure."
"I'll do her, Matthew."
The tall man started to leave, then stepped back, bent down, and lightly kissed Kitty on the cheek. Slightly surprised at the overt display, she looked at him, hard.
She pat his cheek, which was still inches from her face. "You okay, cowboy?"
"No. But then I don't think any of us are."
With that, he turned and walked out of the Longbranch, leaving only the swinging batwing doors in his wake.