Chapter 7
By the time Nick and Heath got into town, it was getting dark. There was no light on in Jarrod's office, and Nick frowned about it until Heath said, "Let's try A.K.'s Court. If anything is going on with Shane, Jarrod might have gone over there to see Sandra."
"Ah, it's worth a shot," Nick said.
They left their horses hitched near Jarrod's office and headed over to A.K.'s. They could hear Sandra singing as they approached. She had that distinctive alto that was downright sultry and alluring. Nick and Heath went into the bar and didn't have to look around very much. Jarrod was standing at the end of the bar closest to the door, watching Sandra, sipping scotch.
Nick snarled to himself as he went up to his older brother and said, "Thanks for letting us know you'd be late."
Jarrod nearly jumped at the sound of his voice. He saw both his brothers and then finally remembered his promise. "Oh, I'm sorry, I got into so much today I just forgot."
"Mother's gonna have your head," Heath said.
"If I leave it on your shoulders," Nick said. "Let's get out of here, Jarrod. No good can come from you being here."
"I have to talk to Sandra," Jarrod said. "Shane is selling that land he owns. I need to be sure she knows that."
"Why?" Nick asked.
"In case it means trouble," Jarrod said.
"The sheriff can take care of that."
"Nick, just let me alone for a few minutes," Jarrod said, irritated. "She'll be done after another song, I'll talk to her for a minute or so, and then I'll get out of here with you. All right?"
"Buy us a beer," Heath said.
Jarrod waved at A.K., forked over some money, and A.K. brought beers for Nick and Heath.
Jarrod caught Sandra looking his way as she started her next song, noticing Nick and Heath were there, looking concerned about it. Jarrod didn't know why that would bother her, but he found out when the song was over and she hesitated coming toward him. He went to her instead.
"I need a word," he said quietly.
Sandra nodded and moved to a spot at the foot of the stairs. Nick and Heath stayed at the bar, watching.
"Did you know Buster had put the land up for sale?" Jarrod asked quietly.
"I haven't talked to him," she said, "but that's a relief, in a way. Maybe that's why he came here."
"I'm hoping so," Jarrod said. "I know he tried to see you, but A.K. wouldn't let him. He may be back any minute."
"Then I'd just as soon you got out of here. A.K. will look out for me."
"My brothers and I being here may help."
"Please, Jarrod – Buster can be a loud mouth and if he sees you he might start saying things we don't want people to hear, and with your brothers here there might be trouble. You know how Buster can be."
"Sandra – "
"Please, Jarrod, just go."
"Only if you'll talk to me tomorrow and let me know if you've had trouble."
Sandra nodded, more frantic now. "All right, all right, just go."
Jarrod turned, motioned to his brothers, and went right out the door. Nick and Heath followed, but Jarrod went only to the end of the block before he stopped and looked up and down the street.
"Now what are you doing?" Nick asked.
"Waiting," Jarrod said. "Buster will be here."
"And just what are you gonna do about it if he is?"
"Jarrod, let Sandra and A.K. handle it," Heath said. "There's nothing you can do to help the situation."
"Heath's right," Nick said. "This is one time you gotta stop thinking you can fix everything. This isn't on your shoulders."
"In a way, it is," Jarrod said with a quiet sigh and decided to say something that was only half true but would keep his brothers satisfied. He kept his eyes on the street in front of A.K.'s. "I didn't keep her husband out of jail. He went to prison for ten years and like everybody else, he came out worse than he went in. That is on my shoulders."
Nick was about to argue with him, but Jarrod's eyes suddenly flashed. Nick looked to where he was looking, and Heath followed their gazes. Jarrod saw Buster Shane crossing the street, heading for A.K.'s Court.
"Is that Shane?" Heath asked.
"It is," Jarrod said and started off toward him before Nick could stop him.
Jarrod planted himself directly in Shane's path, before he reached the boardwalk in front of A.K.'s. Nick and Heath caught up with him and planted themselves behind him to his left and right. Shane stopped dead and looked at each of them. A man of his size, facing three men who were all a head taller than he was, should have backed off, but Buster Shane was fresh out of prison and was not inclined to get rid of the attitude he'd developed there. Before Jarrod could even say a word, Shane hit him full in the face.
Jarrod went down, but Nick and Heath were on top of Shane before Jarrod even got up again. Nick got one good punch in before Heath grabbed Shane by both arms and twisted him away. "Let him go!" Nick yelled.
Jarrod was up again already, wiping the blood off his lip. Men in the street and at the door of the bar had stopped and were watching. "Nick, leave it!" Jarrod yelled.
Heath threw Shane aside, and Shane landed on his knees in the dirt. He got up again fast, but another bystander grabbed him and held him off.
Jarrod pointed a finger at Shane. "You will leave Sandra alone. You will sell that property and get out of Stockton."
"You still want her for yourself, do you?" Shane spat back. "Do these brothers of yours know why you really sent me to Quentin? Do the people in Stockton really know about the great and noble Jarrod Barkley and how he gets rid of husbands when he wants their wives?"
The man who had grabbed Shane wrestled him away, saying, "Get out of here before the sheriff comes and throws you in jail again." The man shoved Shane down the street and kept after him. Shane gave up, backed off and went away, with the man still herding him off.
The other men in the street started going back to what they were doing. Jarrod picked his hat up out of the dirt and started off toward his office. His brothers followed, protecting his back, keeping watch in case Shane came at him again, but Shane was gone now. By the time the Barkleys reached Jarrod's office and Nick's and Heath's horses, they were the only ones around.
"I'll have to get my horse out of the livery," Jarrod said and tried to keep walking.
Nick grabbed his arm. "Wait a minute. You got a big problem we need to talk about."
"There's nothing to talk about, Nick," Jarrod said.
Heath said, "Buster Shane thinks you lost his case and put him in prison to get to his wife."
"He's wrong," Jarrod said. "There was nothing between Sandra and me then and there's been nothing, ever."
Jarrod headed off for the livery. Nick and Heath gave each other an exasperated look, unhitched their horses and walked after him, holding back a little farther now but still looking out in case Shane came back. He didn't.
When they got home, Victoria met them in the foyer and looked them over one by one. Jarrod was the only one whose clothes were dirty, whose lip was swollen. Victoria gave them all a look that said she really didn't want to know how he got that way but thought she did know. "Audra and Silas are getting dinner together," she said. "Clean up and join us, Jarrod."
And that was all she said before she turned and went back to the kitchen. Jarrod headed up the stairs.
Dinner was quiet, subdued, and Jarrod headed up to bed early without discussing a thing with his family. "What happened?" Victoria finally asked after he'd gone.
"Buster Shane slugged him," Heath said. "He thinks Jarrod lost his case years ago so he could have Buster's wife."
"Did you talk to Jarrod about that?"
"He denies it," Nick said.
"Do you believe him?" Victoria asked, prompting a move from Audra sitting on the sofa, a sudden stiffening that said she was appalled Victoria would even ask such a question.
Nick saw her move and understood what it said. "Yeah, I believe him," he said, more to Audra than to Victoria.
"But Buster Shane doesn't," Heath said.
Jarrod thought about things all night, not sleeping well, and he began to know there were things he had to get to the bottom of. What happened ten years ago was not only about a comforting embrace in the hall outside the courtroom. It was about everything that had been left unsaid in that courtroom, about what happened to get the Shanes into that courtroom, and maybe, Jarrod began to think, about what was going on inside each of the Shanes.
Jarrod started remembering that this was about a dead man named Roman Taliaferro who was still a mystery. All the questions he put to Buster years ago went unanswered but for I sold him some tools. All his questions for Sandra while she was on the stand were met only with her testimony that she had found Buster with Taliaferro's body. What was it neither of the Shanes was saying?
Jarrod scarcely slept. His lip hurt, and thoughts were going through his head all night long. They started to settle into a plan as the sun started to come up. He got up early, to his family's surprise, and was the first one down to breakfast. Nick wasn't far behind him.
Silas had set up a buffet and Jarrod was already eating. Nick dished up some food, asking, "How's the lip?"
"Calming down," Jarrod said.
"You going into town today?"
"I have work to do," Jarrod said.
Nick sat down at the table with him. "Are you gonna go looking for Buster Shane to get even for that lip?"
"No," Jarrod said.
"But you might get even if he happens to find you."
Jarrod finally leveled a serious look at his brother, but he spoke calmly. "I don't intend to hit Buster or anyone else. I have other work to do at my office, and yes, I do have some questions I want to get answers to, but not from Buster."
"From Sandra?"
"Nick, if I need you, I'll let you know," Jarrod said.
"Like you said you'd let us know last night if you weren't gonna be home for dinner? You better mean it this time."
"I do," Jarrod said, and they left it at that.
