Chapter 12 – And So It Begins

Three days went by, with Bart's health improving every day. On Monday afternoon Dave Parker rode up to see how he was doing, and to ask more questions.

The last time anyone had seen the sheriff was the day of the shootings. Dave was walking a fine line, being both the law in Little Bend and a friend of the Mavericks. He was here in both capacities today, but he needed to get more answers regarding the shooting and death of Marshal Travis Cole.

Doralice met him at the front door. "How's our boy?" was the first thing he asked.

"Getting better all the time," Doralice answered as she ushered him in. "Come upstairs and see for yourself."

Up the stairs they went and into the bedroom. Bart was once again sitting up and reading a book, but this time he had no sling on his shoulder, only the bandaging, and his wrist appeared to be moving almost normally.

"Well, I'd say that's an improvement."

"Over the last time you saw me?" Bart asked.

"Yes, sir. You feel up to answering some questions?"

"No, but I will anyway."

Dave took a seat next to the bed. Doralice sat in the corner, protectively.

"What do you remember?"

"Most of everything. I remember pickin' up the shotgun and opening the door. Cole was standing there with his double-barrel pointed right at me, and as soon as he saw me he pulled the trigger."

"What did you do next?"

Bart hesitated before answering. "I started to lose my grip on the shotgun, so I braced it against my body and pulled the triggers. Then I staggered backward and fell."

"You shot Cole?"

"I did."

"Not Doralice?"

"No."

"And you remembered this all by yourself?"

"Yes."

From over in the corner, Doralice offered, "Belle saw it."

"Belle saw it? Where was she?"

"She was comin' down the stairs," Bart finished.

"You know I'll have to question her," Dave reminded him.

"I know."

Doralice stood up. "I'll go get her, Dave."

"No, I'll go to her."

"Anything you say."

Parker followed Doralice out the door and down the hall. "You can't come in, Doralice."

"I know."

Belle was sitting on her bed; Maudie was nowhere in sight. Dave walked in and took a seat. "Belle, you know you're not in trouble, don't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Just tell me what you saw."

"Maudie and me were just foolin' around when we heard all the noise. She ran to the window to see what it was. I just knew it was trouble, so I ran for the stairs. I was almost to the bottom when I heard the first shotgun blast and looked up. Daddy had the shotgun in his right hand, but it was slipping, so he braced it against his right side and fired. Then he fell back and dropped the gun. It was Daddy that shot Marshal Cole, not Momma."

"And you're willing to swear to this in a court of law?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, thank you, Belle."

Back down the hall he went. "She seems fairly certain of her facts. I don't know what kind of a difference it'll make that you shot him instead of Doralice. It was self-defense, either way, but he was still a U. . We'll just have to wait and see what the judge has to say. He'll be here in two days, his name is Warren Collins. I'll come out and get whoever he needs to see, and we'll see where it goes from there. Hopefully, he'll decide against a trial and it'll all be over. That's what I recommend, I just can't promise anything."

"You've been more than fair, Dave. We want to thank you for that. We appreciate the position you're in," Bart told him.

"We've been friends for a long time, Bart, and Cole came out here lookin' for blood. I'm gonna tell the judge that, see if we can head him in the right direction."

"Do you think it will work?" Doralice asked after the sheriff was gone.

"You mean the self-defense play? I don't know, blue-eyes. It was self-defense, ain't no doubt about that, but he was a marshal. Nobody wants to remember that his sole purpose in comin' out here was to blow my head off. I guess that's up to Smithson, to make sure the judge knows. I expect he'll be out here today or tomorrow. We're gonna hafta go over all this stuff again. Maybe you oughtta send somebody into town to fetch him so we can get this over with."

Doralice nodded agreement."Good idea. I'll get Pauly to go. He's not doing anything right now."

Bart watched her walk out of the room. Dear Lord, let this be over soon, he thought.