Chapter 6
When Jack Stone answered the knock on his hotel room door and saw who was standing there with the sheriff, he thought for a minute that he was seeing a ghost. He couldn't even remember how many years it had been, but the man did not look much different than the day they took him off to prison. "Bob Marty," Stone said as if in a trance. "Are you Bob Marty?"
Marty nodded. "I am. We should save the reminiscing, though. I'm here because my wife and I found Jarrod Barkley."
Stone let them in, shaking as he closed the door behind them. "Found him? Is he dead?"
"Not when I left him at my house," Marty said. "I came into town and sent the doctor out there. He was half drowned when we found him and Alice - my wife - thinks he could get pneumonia."
"I want to get out there right away," the sheriff said. "I figured you'd want to go with us."
Stone looked at Marty, still in shock, and still clearly not entirely trusting.
The sheriff understood. Very few people in town trusted Bob Marty. Many objected when he moved here after he was released from prison. That was why Marty lived far out of town on a small farm and rarely came into Vallejo. But none of that was vital right now.
Stone said, "Yeah, I want to go. Have you notified the Barkleys?"
"Not yet," Marty said. "I wanted to hear what the doctor said first."
Stone started out the door in just his shirt sleeves. His jacket was draped over a chair, still drying. As he ushered Marty and the sheriff out, he said, "I contacted them and they wired back that his brothers were coming. I expect they'll get here tomorrow."
Marty knew Jarrod had brothers and more family, but he had never met any of them. "We should know more about his condition by then."
The sheriff said, "I don't know if we'll know any more about what happened to you, though, except that it was probably those pirates."
"Pirates," Marty said as they headed down the stairs and through the lobby of the hotel. He had heard a rumor or two about them but didn't know any details.
"I know they're probably around here somewhere right under our noses," the sheriff said, "but so far nobody who's survived them has seen them."
"We gotta think of some other angle to work to find them," Marty said.
The sheriff stopped, and so did Stone and Marty. The sheriff said, "We?"
Marty looked at both the sheriff and Stone, then let his gaze settle on Stone. "I'm not the man you knew five years ago. I don't hold any grudges against you or Jarrod, and even if the people around here don't like me or trust me, I don't hold any grudges against them either. If these pirates have robbed you and Jarrod, I want to help find them and stop them from robbing or killing anybody else. And that was my line of work, even if I did foul it up."
"I'm not too keen on letting you foul this up," Stone said.
"Like I said, I'm not the man you knew."
Stone asked, "Does Jarrod know he's with you?"
"No," Marty said. "He hasn't been conscious when I'm around."
Stone sighed. "Well, this is gonna be quite a reunion then."
The sheriff said, "Let's get out there and see if Barkley can tell us anything. We can't make plans until we know what he knows and doesn't know."
The sheriff and Marty fetched their horses and got a mount for Stone. In a little under half an hour they were at Marty's farm. Stone allowed himself a moment to be impressed with how fine it looked, clean and in good repair. Chickens in a coop watched them pull up, as did one dog on the porch who got up, wagging his tail, accepting a rub behind the ears from his master. The three men went inside.
To find the doctor coming out of the bedroom. "Well," the doctor said right away, "he's weak and groggy but he's not feverish and his lungs are clear. He's coughing a bit but I think that's just irritation in his throat from bay water he swallowed."
"Can we talk to him?" Stone asked, anxious to see how Jarrod was.
"For a bit," the doctor said, "but it's best he get a lot of rest today. I left something for Alice to give him tonight to help him sleep and ward off any infection, and I'll check back tomorrow."
The doctor left and the men went into bedroom, to find Alice helping Jarrod to sit up a bit. Jarrod was moaning, eyes closed, but he opened them and breathed a big sigh when he saw Stone. "Jack - thank God. Are you all right?"
Stone came closer. "Lump on my head but I'm not as done in as you are."
Jarrod looked at the two other men. Alice said, "Mr. Maloney, this is our sheriff Abe McCool and my husband - Bob Marty."
Jarrod's blue eyes grew wide and unbelieving - and then accepting. "Well, it looks like a couple jigs are up for me. Bob Marty."
"Jarrod Barkley," Marty said.
Sheriff McCool said, "Now that we all know each other, Mr. Barkley, would you mind telling me why you gave Mrs. Marty a fake name?"
Jarrod closed his eyes. "Because I didn't know in whose care I was - until right now." Jarrod had to clear his throat.
"Tell me what happened to you," the sheriff said.
Jarrod said, "Somebody hit me over the head on the boat and the next thing I knew I was flailing around in the water. I don't remember how I got to shore or how I got here. Jack, is that what happened to you?"
"Yes," Stone said, "except I was awake enough I could get myself to shore and into Vallejo."
"Vallejo? Is that where we are?"
"Outside a few miles, on my farm," Marty said. "Our property runs right up to the water. We found you on the beach."
"Did you see who hit you, Mr. Barkley?" the sheriff asked.
Jarrod shook his head. "I didn't see or hear a thing. Does my family know where I am?"
"I wired them what happened and told them you were missing," Stone said. "Your brothers are on the way and should be here tomorrow."
"My mother will worry," Jarrod said. "Can you wire her right away?"
"As soon as I get back to town," the sheriff said. "I'll let you boys have your reunion now, and let you get some rest, Mr. Barkley. Tomorrow we can start to figure this out in earnest."
Sheriff McCool left, and as soon as he was gone, Alice said, "I'm going to get some coffee and food on and let you men talk. I think you have a lot to say to each other." And she left the room too.
Jarrod leveled his softening gaze on Marty. "I expect so. I was wondering what happened to you, Bob. I heard you were granted a pardon but then you disappeared."
Marty nodded. "I was trying to put the past behind me, but it hasn't been all that easy to do. That sweet woman is the best thing that ever happened to me, but except for a couple people like the sheriff and the doctor, people haven't been too willing to forget what I did."
Jarrod's eyes went surprised, and Stone said, "You're admitting it now?"
"Not just because accepting a pardon means you accept guilt," Marty said. "I admit it. I took all that money. I lost it gambling. I deserved that guilty verdict. But I'm not that man anymore. I'm just a farmer, lying low, trying to make myself a better man. And if I can help find the men who did this to you -" He chuckled a little. "The man who prosecuted me and the man who defended me, both washed up out of the bay, right at my feet. When am I gonna get a better chance to redeem myself? Who better to redeem myself with than the two of you?"