Chapter 3
Fred Madden checked his watch. It was 2:30 pm. If the train was running on time, he'd have to get started to the depot to see the 2:45 come in. There were bound to be people on the street who would stop him and delay him over one thing or another. There were always people on the street who would stop him, and a five minute trip could easily turn into fifteen minutes.
The sheriff didn't want to be late today. Buster Shane might be on the 2:45, and he wanted to know if the man just out of San Quentin that morning was coming here. Oddly enough, though, no one stopped him on the street, and he was at the depot by 2:35. He checked with the station master and found out the train was late but only by two or three minutes. He decided to sit down on the bench beside the door outside on the platform. When he went out there, he found Jarrod Barkley already waiting there.
Sheriff Madden sat down beside him. Jarrod gave him a look. Sheriff Madden said, "Maybe two of us welcoming Shane to Stockton is a pretty good idea."
"If you don't mind the wait," Jarrod said.
"It's only a few minutes," the sheriff said, "and it seems pretty quiet in town."
"I hope it's not me you're worried about," Jarrod said.
"No, not you," the sheriff said. "You're bigger than he is. You can take him if you have to."
"But you're going to make sure I don't take him just because I want to."
"No," the sheriff said, more seriously. "I'm just here to let him know I know he's here. Why are you here?"
"The same reason," Jarrod said.
"What do you plan to say to him if he gets off that train?"
"I don't know. I don't have a plan."
Sheriff Madden scowled. Jarrod Barkley not having a plan was very unusual. "Well, tell you what. Let me do the talking."
Jarrod looked at him. "What's your plan?"
"Tell him he's welcome as long as he behaves himself, but if I get one complaint from anybody about anything, I'll be running him out of town."
Jarrod almost smiled at that, but said, "That's not necessarily very legal."
"So sue me."
Now Jarrod did laugh, a brief laugh and a smile. Fred Madden smiled, because that's what he was trying to coax out of his friend – a laugh to relax him, because he'd been tied up in a big knot since getting that letter the day before.
They didn't talk much more, because the train apparently gained some time. It came in about five minutes early instead of a few minutes late. Jarrod and the sheriff both stood up as it rolled to a stop. Now whatever light-heartedness had been between them was gone. They stood, waiting, until people began to get off the train.
They didn't worry about knowing Buster Shane on sight. The man was only about five foot seven – nearly a foot shorter than the sheriff was – and was very thin. He undoubtedly would be wearing that plain, grey prison release suit and carrying, at most, a small bag of personal items. He would be alone.
Shane did not get off the train. About ten people did. Four were women, two were children, and the other four were men, one with each of the women. They all came down onto the platform and moved on, out through the depot or straight into the street, and they were gone.
"Well," Sheriff Madden said.
"He could be on the midnight train tonight," Jarrod said.
"If he is, I'll meet him," Sheriff Madden said. "Why don't you go on home?"
"I have plenty to do at the office," Jarrod said. "I'll stop by A.K.'s and tell Sandra that Buster didn't come in yet, and I'll be here tonight too."
"Jarrod, you can't be here for every train that comes in here over the next week," the sheriff said.
"No," Jarrod agree, "but I can be here tonight. If Sandra doesn't want me to be I'll reconsider it, but otherwise, I'll just see you back here again."
"You don't think Sandra will come, do you?"
"No," Jarrod said. "Sandra won't come."
Every now and then the sheriff knew Jarrod was not telling him everything about something. That blocking look in the lawyer's eyes, the near scowl on his face, even the way he held his body would sometimes say to Fred Madden that there was more Jarrod could be saying but he wasn't going to say it. Now was one of those times.
XXXXXXX
"I don't suppose I can hope he won't come at all," Sandra said as she sat at a table in A.K.'s Court with Jarrod.
He had just told her Shane had not gotten off the 2:45 train. The news didn't relieve her much. "You can hope," Jarrod said.
"Can't the prison tell you where he's gone? Wouldn't they have bought the ticket or something?"
Jarrod shook his head. "When they release you, they give you a suit and a little money and shove you out the door. What you do is up to you. They're done with you unless you do something to get yourself thrown back in. Is there anyplace else he might have gone? Does he have family somewhere else?"
Sandra shook her head. "None that I ever knew of."
"None that I could ever find when I defended him," Jarrod said. "Well, I'll be there for the midnight train to see if he gets off that one. Sheriff Madden will be there too."
"I'll be working," Sandra said.
"You'll let us know if he somehow gets past us and ends up here, won't you?"
Sandra nodded. "Assuming he comes in here. I'm not really worried about that. A.K. will look out for me here."
"You're worried about him coming after you sometime when you're alone," Jarrod said.
"I live upstairs," Sandra said. "I don't have to go walking anywhere after work. I'm just uneasy in general, Jarrod. Even if he never does anything to me at all, him being here is going to grate on me. And you too, I imagine."
Jarrod looked at her. "I've been grated on plenty in life. I can handle Buster."
Sandra looked back. "Can you handle it if he starts talking?"
"Yes," Jarrod said. "I can tell the truth and live with it. Can you?"
Sandra hesitated, but said, "The truth?"
"Yes," Jarrod said more firmly. "It's one thing to keep the facts to ourselves, but if it comes time to let them out, the truth is what it has to be. Lies on top of secrecy would just hurt us more."
"Your family might be disappointed in you, if they misinterpret."
Jarrod almost laughed at that. "I've disappointed my family more than once. You and I may not have talked much over the past few years, but surely you know the stories of some of my failures, and the public versions of them haven't been very flattering. Pretty accurate, and not flattering. Contrary to what some may still believe, we Barkleys have never expected perfection from each other. We make mistakes. We work it out."
"You're lucky that way," Sandra said.
Jarrod knew Sandra had never had a strong family support system, not from her husband, not from her parents or siblings before that. "I know I am," he said, "and I know it's a rare thing to have a family like that. We'll deal with whatever Buster brings – if he shows up and brings trouble. And I'll help you deal."
She would have taken his hand in thanks for that, but she was just as reluctant to touch him as he was to touch her, so they did not touch in any way. She just nodded and said, "I hope you don't have to."
