Chapter 8 – The Inquisitor

The next morning Bret was up with the sunrise. He grabbed a cup of coffee, kissed Ginny and Gracie goodbye, and headed for the bunkhouse. Lucien was outside already saddling his horse. Bret stopped him. "I need you to take over my job for right now. I've got a lot of questions to ask and I need to get it done. By the way, did I ever make you foreman?"

"Uh, no," came the reply.

"Well, you are. As of now. Extra forty dollars a month comes with it. I take it you have no problem with that?"

Lucien was grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

"No sir, boss, not a problem in the world."

"Alright, get your gear moved over into the foreman's house, and then take over my job. I'll get back to you when I'm back."

"How's Bart this morning?"

"Goin' to see him now. I'll let you know later."

Bret hurried up to his brother's and knocked at the back door. Lily Mae let him in and offered him coffee, which he accepted as Doralice came into the kitchen. "How's Bart this morning?"

"That depends on whether you brought any ladanum or not."

Bret reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a full bottle. "Will this do?"

"So you went to Simon's last night?"

He nodded and sat down. "We had a long talk. He gave me a lot to think about."

"Such as?"

"Go take that to Bart. If he needs ladanum, he's really hurtin'. We can talk when you come back."

Doralice's leaving gave Bret a chance to talk to Lily Mae. He remembered Simon's admonishment to not take anything for granted. "Lily Mae, where were you yesterday when Bart was shot?"

"I was in the kitchen, Mister Bret, where I usually am."

"Didn't you hear all the racket that was going on?"

"Yes, sir, I did," Lily answered, without any hesitation.

"And what did you do about it?"

"Why, nothin' at all. There's always some kind of goin's on around here. Tweren't nothin' unusual."

"Even when you heard the shotgun blast?"

"Well sir, I had a bowl in my hands, and the noise startled me so that I dropped the bowl. Then when the second shot came I ran for the front door."

Bret pushed on. "And what did you find when you got there?"

"I couldn't see outside, but by the time I got to the door I saw Mr. B lyin' on the floor, with the misses hoverin' over him."

"And where was the shotgun? Bart's, I mean?"

"I don't rightly know. I don't remember seein' it."

"Think back, Lily. Was it by Doralice, or next to Bart?"

Lily Mae shook her head. "I don't remember, honest, Mister Bret."

"Okay, did you see anybody else? Lucien, maybe? Any of the children?"

"No sir, not a soul."

"You're sure?"

Lily made the sign of the cross on her bosom. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Doralice came back downstairs, humming. "That should hold him for a while. He's asleep again." She looked at the two people in her kitchen. "Are you giving Lily Mae the third degree?"

"Nope. Just askin' some questions. You got a few minutes?"

"Sure, but I don't know how much help I'll be. You want some more coffee?" She asked while pouring herself a cup.

"Yes, ma'am, fill 'er up."

Doralice finished with the coffee and sat down with a cup of her own. "What do you want to know?"

"When you were tending to Bart, before Simon got here, where was the shotgun?"

"I don't remember, Bret."

"Did you see any of the children? Belle, perhaps?"

The mother of six took a few minutes to think. Had she seen Belle? Or any of her babies? Would she remember if she had? Finally she gave Bret the only answer she could as she shook her head emphatically. "I'm sorry, Bret, I just don't remember."

"Who was the first person you saw besides Simon?"

"That's easy. Lily Mae came running in from the kitchen."

Bret took another swallow of coffee and finished the cup. "Anything else you can think of, Doralice?"

The still-beautiful blonde shook her head. "No. Nothing." She hesitated before continuing."Bret, is Dave gonna arrest me?"

"I don't know, Doralice. I think if it was up to him alone, he wouldn't. But a new judge is comin' to town, probably bringin' a prosecutor with him, and he might. Cole was a U.S. Marsal, after all. Even if he was a crazy one. We just have to wait and see."

Suddenly there was a loud 'thump' heard upstairs, followed rapidly by a faint 'damn it.' Doralice took off running for the stairs with Bret rapidly following her. When they got to the Maverick's bedroom, they found Bart on the floor next to the bed, all tangled up in the blankets. "Get me out of this mess!" He pleaded.

"Well, that's one way to wake him up," Bret remarked as he and Doralice did their best to untangle the wounded man. As soon as they got him unwrapped Bret picked him up, against Bart's protests, and put him back in bed where he belonged. Doralice gathered the blankets and straightened them on the bed, making sure that Bart was nice and warm.

"Do you want more ladanum?" she asked.

"No," Bart stated emphatically. "I hate the taste of that stuff."

"I know, darlin' but you were in pain."

"Well," Bret began, "if you're not takin' any more medicine, you should be awake to answer some questions."

"Are you the chief investigator now?" The injured man asked.

"I'm askin' the questions that Parker's gonna ask."

A long sigh accompanied the answer. "Alright, go ahead. But you might not like the answers."

"You remember Eddie Singletary comin' to the ranch to warn you about Cole?"

"Yeah."

"Is that when you put the shotgun by the door?"

"Yeah."

"What do you remember after that?"

"I heard a horse outside, and Lucien was hollerin' for all he was worth."

"What was he hollerin'?"

"Not sure, exactly. Somethin' about lookout and Cole."

"Did you pick up the gun first or open the door first?"

"The gun."

Bret paused before he asked the next question. He needed to know exactly what Bart remembered, but he didn't want to push too hard. "And then you opened the door?"

"Yes."

"What did you see?"

"I saw the barrels of a shotgun."

"And then?"

"Then I got hit by a load of buckshot."

Again Bret paused. "What do you remember after that?"

"Nada."

"You're sure? You don't remember pulling the triggers on the shotgun?"

"No. Did I?"

"Somebody did. That's what we're trying to determine. What's the next thing you remember?"

"Simon. I heard Simon tellin' me to swallow, and then the taste of that awful medicine."

"And then?"

Doralice interrupted. "That's enough, Bret, he can barely keep his eyes open. Let the man sleep and you can finish your questions later."

"Alright, partner, the lady is right. Go to sleep, I'll be back later."

Bart's eyes slid shut as his wife and brother left the room. Once in the hallway, Bret stopped Doralice. "Wait, I need to talk to Maudie and Belle."

"You can do that after lunch," Doralice informed him.

"I am kinda hungry. I skipped breakfast."

"Then it's settled. We'll have lunch before the inquisitions continue. But I'm givin' you fair warning, I'm not gonna let you upset the girls."

"Fair enough. We'll see what Lily Mae's been thinkin' about for lunch."

"I think it's venison stew."

Bret gave a little laugh. "Sounds delicious."

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