Chapter 12
Matt went over and sat on the edge of the bed and took Kitty's hand into his. "You're looking a lot better than when I saw you this morning. How are you feeling?"
"Well Doc thinks I'm going to live, and I feel a little better," said Kitty.
"I'm so glad to hear that," said Matt. "Where is Doc?"
"He went over to Delmonico's to get me some chicken noodle soup and homemade bread," said Kitty. "Matt, Doc said I should talk to you about my injury. What happened?"
"No, I have no idea how I ended up with a head injury," said Kitty. "Can you please tell me what happened?"
Matt was about to speak, but he heard the outer room door open and close. Doc came into the back bedroom carrying a tray with two bowls of soup and a couple slices of bread. He noticed Matt sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Matt, when did you get back?" asked Doc as he set the tray on the nightstand, next to the bed.
"Just now," Matt answered.
"I hope you got them," said Doc, looking directly at Matt.
"I did. Lucinda is in jail. I wired Judge Brooker to set up a trial," Matt said.
Kitty sat there listening to the conversation between Doc and Matt. She had no idea what they were talking about. "Lucinda's in jail? Trial? What's going on? she questioned?
Doc looked at Matt. "You haven't said anything to her?"
"I was about to say something, but then you walked in," Matt responded. He then looked at Kitty. "Kitty, what do you remember about being with Lucinda and her friends?"
"I remember going out to Lucinda's father's land with Lucinda, Adeline, Jo Ellen, and Susanna. Lucinda wanted to show me all the wildflowers out there. While we were out there Lucinda proceeded to tell me that you belonged to her and only her. I told her differently. The next thing I remember is waking up here, apparently with a head injury. Can you please tell me what happened?"
"From what Adeline, Jo Ellen, and Susanna told me, Lucinda did not like you telling her that I didn't belong to her. She snapped, picked up a branch, and struck you in the back of the head. The girls said they wanted to help you, but Lucinda told them to leave you alone. She told them that if you died, they would also be to blame because they lured you out there with Lucinda. Fear of being arrested stopped them from helping you. Fortunately Adeline listened to her conscience and came to me. If she hadn't…" Matt couldn't finish. He didn't want to think about what might have been.
"Why did you just arrest Lucinda and not the others?" asked Doc.
"I brought the others in and questioned them separately. All three of their stories matched. They all point to Lucinda being the only one that attacked Kitty," said Matt. "I told the other girls that I wouldn't arrest them, provided they told their stories and testified against Lucinda."
"I really thought they wanted to be friends with me. Boy was I wrong," Kitty said softly as she looked down at her hands.
Matt and Doc could both tell that Kitty was upset. She knew the girls took advantage of her and her friendship. They hated to see her hurt and upset.
"Kitty," said Matt as he took her petite hand into his large hand. "Your friendship with those girls may not have worked out, and that's their loss. But remember, you still have me, and Doc, and even Chester. We value your friendship.
Kitty looked over at Doc. He simply nodded his agreement at her. Matt was right. She shouldn't be upset about losing her friendship with those girls. Besides, if she really thought about it, she really didn't have too much in common with them anyway. She would rather have Matt, Doc, and Chester's friendship.
"By thunder, I almost forgot," Doc said as he got up and took the tray of food off the table. "Here, I want you to eat this bowl of soup and some bread. You need to keep up your strength." He took the other bowl of soup for himself.
Back at the jail Chester had brought Lucinda her supper, which consisted of a piece of ham and some mashed potatoes. Chester ate his meal at Delmonico's. He was sitting at Matt's desk, when Gilbert, the telegraph officer came in. "Hello, I have a telegram for the Marshal. He told me to bring it to the office."
"Mr. Dillon isn't here right now. But if he told you to bring it to the office, you can put it on his desk," said Chester. That's what Gilbert did.
Chester thought about it for a minute or two, and then decided to take the telegram to Mr Dillon. He figured if Mr. Dillon wanted Gilbert to bring the telegram to the office, then it must be important. Most often if Mr. Dillon sent a telegram, he would go back to the telegraph office later on to see if there was a response. He had the important telegrams hand delivered to the office.
Chester knew Mr. Dillon was at Doc's office to see Kitty, and that's where he went. He hobbled up the steps to Doc's office and walked inside. He noticed nobody was in the front room, but could hear voices in the other room. He walked into the backroom.
"Chester," Matt addressed him. "Do you need something?"
"No, Mr. Dillon. Gilbert delivered this telegram to the office. I figured it must be important, so I brought it here to you," Chester answered. He gave the telegram to Matt.
"It must be from Judge Brooker. I wired him in regards to a trial and told Gilbert to bring the response to my office," said Matt. He took the telegram out of the envelope and silently read it.
"What does it say, Matt?' asked Doc.
"He says the trial will be next Wednesday," Matt said. "Will Kitty be well by then? I would like her at the trial."
"I don't see why she shouldn't be," Doc responded.
The day of the trial arrived and like Doc had predicted, Kitty was well enough to attend the trial. The Dodge House was made into a makeshift courtroom. It was full of the citizens of Dodge. Lucinda sat at a table with Matt sitting next to her. He would've much rather sat next to Kitty, but knew he had to sit next to the prisoner. Kitty sat between Doc and Chester. Adeline, Susanna, and Jo Ellen sat to the right of Chester. They were all sitting in the front row.
Judge Brooker banged his gavel to quiet the room down. "Order in the court. Let's get started. Miss Glidden, you are being charged with the attempted murder of Miss Kitty Russell. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty," she answered.
"Very well. A plea of not guilty by Miss Glidden has been entered," said Judge Brooker. "Marshal Dillon, would you please step up here. I'd like to question you first."
Matt rose from his chair and came to sit in the chair next to Judge Brooker's table. The Judge took a Bible and had Matt place his right hand on it, swearing to tell the truth. Matt did so.
"Matt, you were the one that found Miss Russell. Where did you find her?" asked Judge Brooker.
"I found her on land that Mr. Glidden owns," Matt answered.
"How did you know she was there? Did she tell you she was going?" asked Judge Brooker.
"No, I realized she was missing after she didn't show up for work. Since the businesses had closed for the evening, I was going to have to wait until tomorrow to see if anyone had seen her. The next day came and I was about to question local merchants, but then Miss Adeline Pumford came into my office. She told me where Kitty was and took me to her," said Matt.
"Thank you, Matt. You may return to your seat. Miss Pumford, would you come up, please?" Judge Brooker asked.
As Matt did, Adeline placed her hand on the Bible swearing to tell the truth. After doing that, she took a seat. Her gaze went to Lucinda, who was glaring at her. Adeline had never seen Lucinda look so angry, so evil.
"Miss Pumford, please explain how you knew that Miss Russell was at the location she was at," stated Judge Brooker.
"Lucinda had this plan to get Kitty to come to her father's land to show her the wildflowers," Adeline said. "But that wasn't the real reason she wanted Kitty out there."
"What was the reason?" asked the Judge.
"To tell Kitty that Marshal Dillon belonged to her, and not Kitty. Lucinda came up with this plan to befriend Kitty so Kitty would trust us. Once we had Kitty's trust, Lucinda wanted to invite her to her father's land. The plan was to only tell Kitty to stay away from the Marshal. But after Lucinda told her that, Kitty said the Marshal didn't feel the same about Lucinda. That really made Lucinda mad. She picked up a branch and hit Kitty in the back of the head, knocking her unconscious. The other girls and I were shocked. That wasn't part of the plan. We wanted to help Kitty," said Adeline.
"Why didn't you?" asked the Judge.
"Lucinda said we were all to blame because we lured Kitty out to the land. I guess we panicked," Adeline replied.
"Why don't you go back to your seat. Miss Meers and Miss Humphrey, please step forward. I'm going to swear you both in. Place your right hands on the Bible. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
"I do," said both girls at the same time.
"You told your stories to Mr. Dillon. Do your stories match Miss Pumford's story?" Judge Brooker asked.
"Yes," responded both girls.
"This is an outrage! It's a conspiracy! How do you know these girls aren't plotting against just to stay out of jail?" exclaimed Lucinda.
"Miss Glidden, calm down," said the Judge. "I would call Miss Russell up here, but I've been told she has no memory of the attack. However, I am going to call Doc Adams up here so he can confirm the attack."
Doc went to the front of the room, gave his promise to tell the truth, and took a seat. He was Kitty's voice right now.
"Doc, please tell me how you know Kitty's injury was a result of an attack and not a fall," said the Judge.
"When I examined her, the only injury she had was the head injury. There were no other bruises or scrapes. Had she fallen, I would expect to see additional bruises and scrapes, and I didn't," said Doc. "Kitty can remember that day up until the attack. She remembers things before and after, but she may never remember being attacked."
"Thank you, Doc. You may return to your seat. Miss Glidden, I'm going to give you the chance to speak on your own behalf. Would you like to do so?" asked Judge Brooker.
"Yes, I would," said Lucinda. However, what she said next shocked everyone. Lucinda turned and looked at Kitty. "I wish you would've died. I wish my so-called friends weren't traitors. If they would've kept their mouths shut, Matt would be all mine. Don't think I'm going to give him up. He will be mine."
Judge Brooker banged his gavel on the table. "Alright, I've heard enough. Miss Glidden, please rise." Lucinda did as she was told. "Miss Glidden, after hearing the sworn testimonies of the witnesses to the attack and of Doc Adams, I hereby find you guilty of the attempted murder of Miss Kitty Russell. Now after hearing your little speech, I consider you a threat to Miss Russell's life. I sentence you to fifteen years in the women's asylum. Marshal, you may take Miss Gliddent back to jail. We'll make arrangements to transfer her to the asylum."
Matt took Lucinda back to the jail. Judge Brooker made arrangements and sent two deputies to take Lucinda to the women's asylum. Matt thought about taking her himself, but then nixed that idea. He didn't want to give Lucinda the wrong idea. In her warped mind, she would probably think he wanted to be alone with her because he wanted her. Besides, the day Lucinda was going to be transferred, Matt was going to take that day off, and he promised Kitty they would go fishing.
TBC
