After They Hanged Korby Kyles
Chapter 1
In California in 1876, according to the Penal Code, when a defendant received a judgment of death, it was performed by hanging, within the walls or yard of a jail, or some convenient private place in the county. The Sheriff of the county had to be present at the execution, and had to invite the presence of a physician, the District Attorney of the county, and at least twelve reputable citizens, to be selected by him. If the defendant requested, the sheriff had to permit such ministers of the gospel, not exceeding two, as the defendant may name, and any persons, relatives or friends, not to exceed five, to be present at the execution, together with such peace officers the sheriff may think expedient, to witness the execution. No other people, and no underaged people, were allowed.
Jarrod Barkley was there at sunup, at a quiet place at the edge of town. He didn't see his client before the sheriff and deputy brought him out from the jail. He didn't say anything to the citizens present, and they didn't speak to him. He knew one or two of them – Matt Cooper, the lawyer who almost took Korby's case, was there. None of Jarrod's family were there, and neither were any of Kyles's family. There were no ministers present. Deputies made sure no unauthorized people came within view of the hanging spot.
Cooper came up to Jarrod before Korby was brought out. He said hello. Jarrod acknowledged his greeting with only a nod. Cooper said, "I'm sorry this came out the way it did," but Jarrod wondered if he really did. Cooper always believed Korby was guilty of killing Col. Ashby, because you could see in his eyes that Korby was a killer, as Matt put it. Jarrod felt he had to take Korby's case if his own lawyer thought he was guilty. Maybe Cooper was right for all the wrong reasons, but in the end, he was right.
At sunup, Korby went up the long ladder and down the short rope without saying a word. He did take one look at his lawyer that might have chilled Jarrod to the bone, but not today. Today he just watched, and felt lousy about it for several conflicting reasons. Lousy because he never liked to see a client of his, or anyone he had prosecuted, hang for his crime. Lousy because of how he fell for Korby's lies in the first place. Lousy for how everyone around him watching the execution looked at him as they walked away. Lousy for ever having gotten involved with Korby Kyles at all.
The sheriff supervised removal of the body, to be buried at the county's cost in the town cemetery without any fanfare or service. Everyone but Jarrod left before they took Korby away, and in the end it was just the sheriff left staring at the gallows with him. "I'll have it taken down by the end of the day," the sheriff said to his old friend, looking for words to make the man feel better than he looked.
Jarrod just stared, and finally said, "I'll be heading home. I think I'd rather go herd cattle today."
The sheriff didn't say anything as Jarrod turned and walked away. He watched Jarrod mount up and ride off in silence.
Jarrod was silent not only all the way home, but once he got there. Even when his Mother saw him come in and asked if he was all right, he just nodded and went up to his room to change out of his suit and into ranch work clothes. When she suggested he eat before he went out into the field, he said only, "I'll eat at the chuck wagon," and that was where he was when his brothers, coming from a far part of the range, saw him. Just eating, alone, sitting on a fallen tree.
"Getting him to talk when he's like this is a mighty chore," Nick said to Heath.
It was Heath who had talked to Jarrod right after Kyles was sentenced to hang, not that long ago. Jarrod was sullen at the time, for so many reasons. The family had shunned him the night before, after Kyles's case had fallen apart, hoping they might urge an apology out of Jarrod before forgiving him for taking the case in the first place and shredding Heath, the witness, on the stand. Forgiveness came and Jarrod accepted it, but he had remained pretty quiet afterward. What happened at home the night of Korby's trial was forgotten now that time had passed.
"Maybe I oughtta try talking to him a bit," Heath said. "It worked the morning Korby was sentenced. He was pretty down about that but he talked to me."
"No, it's my turn," Nick said.
Nick and Heath dismounted, and Heath went to fetch some food for them as Nick sat down beside Jarrod on the log. Jarrod looked up briefly, nodded, said, "Nick," but that was all.
"Is it done?" Nick asked.
Jarrod said, "Yes, it's done."
In blunt Nick fashion, Nick said, "Then get over it. You did everything you could do, but the law decided Korby had to hang, and you've always believed in the law, remember?"
"I remember," Jarrod said.
Jarrod finished his food, tossed the remains of his coffee onto the ground, and got up. He started back to the chuckwagon to give his plate to the cook, but ran into Heath face to face. Heath was bringing food to Nick and carrying a plate for himself too. They stopped. They looked at each other.
Jarrod went on then, and as Heath handed Nick his plate, he looked at Jarrod mounting up and heading toward the herd. "Looks like he's gonna chip in and help us today," Heath said and sat down beside Nick.
They both started eating. Nick said, "He should never have taken Korby's case."
"He knows that," Heath said. "That's probably what's bothering him the most. Watching Korby hang this morning just rubbed it in."
"Ah, we'll just leave him alone, let him ride it out," Nick said. "He'll talk about it if he ever wants to."
"I haven't been around long but I already know he ain't that big a talker about things like this," Heath said, "but from what he said to me the morning Korby was sentenced – he hates watching anybody hang."
"Yeah, he always did," Nick said, "but it comes with the job sometimes."
Heath thought about something. He had been thinking about it, but hadn't been inclined to say anything. Now, though – "You know, maybe we ought to be thinking about something we haven't been thinking about."
"What's that?" Nick asked.
"The rest of the Kyles family," Heath said. "They didn't have any trouble beating me up to keep me from testifying."
"And you haven't filed charges on that yet."
"I was waiting for the trial, and after the trial I was waiting for the hanging."
"Have you decided to do it yet?"
"I don't know. It's a tough decision. It might set them off again if I do."
"It'll just give them a license to do it again if you don't."
Heath nodded a little. "I'll talk to Jarrod about it – if he'll talk."
XXXXX
They didn't say much to each other all day. Jarrod never did get to talking, and even Heath grew silent. He was thinking. He was mostly thinking about whether or not to press charges against Jake, Emmet and Alan Kyles for attacking him in the barn, beating him up, threatening to brand him. But most of all, threatening the family. Threatening Victoria and Audra. Out and out threatening to kidnap Audra and having her shipped out of the country. That last part chilled Heath to the bone.
He had never mentioned that detail to Victoria or Audra. He had mentioned it to Nick and Jarrod, before the trial. Nick had been ready to go murder the Kyleses himself, but Jarrod talked him into increasing the guard at the house instead. Nothing came of the threat, and even Heath figured that maybe nothing would, given that his testimony had ended up helping Korby, not hurting him. He admitted on the stand he wasn't sure it was Korby he saw.
It still galled him that he had to admit that and that Jarrod had forced it out of him right in open court, but on the other hand it was the truth, and Korby had still been found guilty. It just wasn't due to anything he had testified to, and it wasn't due to Jarrod's lack of trying to get Korby found not guilty.
But Heath was still uneasy. It was an ugly threat, and now he wondered – would the Kyleses come after him and the family again if he filed charges against them for coming at him the first time?
Several times he looked Jarrod's way across the field and thought about trying to go talk to him, but he didn't do it. With Jarrod still caught up in the memory of the hanging, he didn't know how to approach him. He didn't know what he was going to say.
"Don't you get all sullen on me too," Nick warned him at one point.
"Sorry," Heath said.
"Don't think about what to do about the Kyleses. You and I will talk to Jarrod tonight, without Mother and Audra. All right?"
Heath nodded and went back to work.
They didn't have to wait that long. When the workday ended and the three brothers got together, Jarrod started talking right away, as soon as they started for home. "I've been thinking about the Kyleses, about Heath filing a complaint against them," he said.
Nick and Heath looked at each other and kept listening.
Jarrod went on, "I think we better decide if we want to pursue them about it, Heath, or whether we want to go to the Kyleses with a deal."
"What kind of deal?" Heath asked.
"You don't charge them," Jarrod said. "The family doesn't charge them for the threats. In return, they stay out of our lives for good. They never set foot on our land again. They never come to us for help with anything at all, including coming to me for legal help. They agree to stay 100 feet away from any of us at all times and if they don't, or if they come on our property anywhere, the deal is off and we charge them for beating up on Heath."
Nick and Heath looked at each other again. "So we just let everything go?" Nick asked Jarrod. "You think they'd abide by something like that?"
Jarrod said, "If we all go to them tomorrow morning and ram it down their throats – yeah, I think they will."
Nick startled a little at the show of force Jarrod seemed to be planning to back this up with.
Heath said, "I like it."
Nick looked at him. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Heath said. "Korby's dead. I think it's time we go on without him and without the rest of the Kyles boys. I think if we lean on them hard enough, they'll go for it."
"No paperwork, no written agreements," Jarrod said. "If they violate the deal, we just press charges for the assault on Heath."
"The statute of limitations will run out on that," Nick said, and then felt surprised that he was the one quoting the law.
"I'll lay odds they don't know that," Heath said.
"Whether they do or not, it doesn't run out for years," Jarrod said. "And we'll have other ways of leaning on them if they try to lean on us."
Nick finally nodded, if a bit grudgingly. "All right. So long as we're ready to back it up all the way we have to."
"I'll bet we don't have to," Jarrod said.
