Chapter 2
When Jarrod and the sheriff reached the ranch, they saw Victoria and Audra were already climbing into a buggy to come to town. Jarrod waved them off, and they climbed down again as Jarrod dismounted.
"Jarrod, are you all right?" Victoria asked and came to his arms quickly.
"I'm fine," Jarrod said.
The sheriff said, "Jarrod, I'll get word to you about the inquest. You stay right here until then, got me?"
Jarrod nodded. "I understand, Steve. It won't be a problem."
The sheriff nodded, turned and rode away.
Victoria and Audra both looked alarmed, at the way Jarrod looked, at the way the sheriff looked at him. "What's going on?" Audra asked. "Are you under arrest?"
"Not exactly," Jarrod said, handing his horse of to one of the stablemen then walked into the house with his mother and sister.
"We sent for Nick and Heath," Audra said. "We were going to meet them on the road to town."
"They'll come here when we don't meet them," Victoria said. "Jarrod, what happened?"
They went into the house, and Jarrod left his hat on the table in the foyer. "Well, there are two versions to that, and therein lies the problem," he said. "Come on, sit down, I'll explain."
Victoria and Audra sat down on the settee as Jarrod poured himself a drink that he really needed. Just as he turned to tell his mother and sister what happened, the front door opened and Nick and Heath hurried in.
"What happened?" Nick asked. "We didn't see you on the road. Are you all right, Jarrod?"
"I'm fine," Jarrod said, "but Jud Robson isn't."
"The runner said he was dead," Victoria said, clearly shaken.
Jarrod nodded. "He followed me to town, caught up to me as I was cutting cross-country to make the trip faster." Jarrod took a deep breath. "I know you may not believe this, but he accused me of being a part of a conspiracy to kill him."
"What?" Nick said.
"No, I believe you," Victoria said. "He said practically the same thing to me before he left to go after you."
"He pulled his gun on me," Jarrod said. "I wasn't carrying one. I couldn't do anything about it. He was just about to kill me when his man Salazar shot him. I didn't even know Salazar was there, but he told me he's been worried for quite a while. The Senator has been seeing conspiracies that don't exist. He wasn't the same man he used to be."
"But why did the sheriff bring you home?" Audra asked. "If it was Senator Robson who tried to kill you – "
"Because that's not what the good people of Stockton believed when they saw us bring Jud into town," Jarrod said. "They believe he was killed by those conspirators who don't exist. They bought the ghost story Jud had convinced himself is true, and even though I thought I had Salazar ready to tell the truth when we got town, he changed his mind when he heard the crowd. He told the sheriff that an unknown assailant killed Jud, and that I might be a part of the conspiracy against him. And he's telling everyone in town that, and they're believing him."
"Why?" Audra cried. "That doesn't make any sense!"
"No, it does," Heath said. He eyed his older brother. "A legend died out there today. He believed there was a conspiracy to kill him, so everyone else believes it, too."
"People don't want to be told their gods aren't telling them the truth," Nick said. "Did anybody threaten you, Jarrod?"
"Some joker tried to grab me, but otherwise not overtly, but the threat is there," Jarrod said. "That's why Steve brought me home. If he hadn't, there was a good chance I wouldn't have made it."
"My God," Victoria breathed.
Jarrod said, "There'll be an inquest, probably sometime tomorrow. Steve will let me know, probably send somebody to make sure I get there alive."
"Oh, no, we're going with you," Nick said. "If you need an escort, it's gonna be us."
"And we will go, too," Victoria said.
"No," Jarrod said quickly. "Mother, it's too dangerous for you and Audra to be with me anytime soon. I don't even like Nick and Heath going along – "
"But you know you won't stop us," Heath said.
Jarrod smiled a little. "Let's say I know better than to try. But Mother, Audra, not you. I want you to stay clear of town completely until this settles down."
Victoria got up and came to her oldest son's arms. "Jarrod, I'm so sorry it came to this. If I had stopped him from going after you – "
"No, Mother, don't blame yourself for anything," Jarrod said, giving her a squeeze. "It was Jud who couldn't face the truth. He was very sick. I grieve for him over that, but now we just have to play out the hand we've been dealt. And unfortunately, that means trying to disprove a lie that everyone else wants desperately to believe is true."
"Fools," Nick muttered.
XXXXXXX
The message came the next morning that the inquest would begin at two o'clock that afternoon and the sheriff would send a deputy for Jarrod. Jarrod spent the day in the library, staring out the window or staring at his hands. He did not drink any liquor, although he wanted to. He had never shown up for a court appearance with hard liquor on his breath and he wasn't about to now. He had lunch with his family, and afterward, when the deputy arrived, he left for town, his brothers riding with him.
Nick and Heath weren't quite ready for what they saw. They had expected some kind of crowd, but not one the size of the one that met them. At least everyone was quiet, behaved. No one gave them any grief as they went into the courthouse, and Salazar was not out there whipping anything up. They hitched their horses in front of the courthouse and went inside. The deputy left after he delivered them to the room where the inquest would be held.
At least it's not Phil Archer, Jarrod thought to himself when he saw that the DA was handling the inquest himself. Salazar was already in the room. Jarrod eyed him, hoping to instill in him the need to speak the truth. This was under oath, not just a rally in front of a crowd. Jarrod hoped Salazar understood that.
Dr. Merar testified about Robson's bullet wound, in the back, that killed him instantly. The DA asked him if he had removed the bullet and still had it. "Yes, I still have it, but it is damaged. It hit the backbone, part of it splintered off and the rest is quite crushed."
"Is it possible to determine if it came from a specific weapon?" the DA asked.
"No, I'm afraid it isn't," Dr. Merar said.
Jarrod listened then as Salazar took the stand, and his faith in humankind took a hit. Salazar repeated the same lie he had come up with the day before. Heath had to grab Nick by the arm once or twice to keep him from protesting out loud when Salazar said Robson had feared Jarrod was part of the conspiracy against him. Jarrod had to take a deep breath and calm himself when it came time for him to testify.
And then he said, "I'm sorry to say that Mr. Salazar is not telling the truth. Mr. Salazar is trying to protect the reputation of the victim, Senator Jud Robson, as perhaps he's always done. But the truth is that the Senator intercepted me as I was on my way here yesterday morning. He did accuse me of being part of a conspiracy against him, but nothing could be further from the truth. Jud Robson had been my friend for many years, but he was not the same man I knew even a year ago. He had begun to see enemies where there weren't any. He had begun to see guns in his face where there weren't any. I was not armed yesterday morning, but he pulled his gun on me anyway and threatened to kill me because he'd come to believe I was part of that conspiracy against him. But I wasn't. There was no conspiracy. It was only in Jud Robson's mind. No hidden assailant shot Senator Robson. Mr. Salazar did, to keep him from killing me. Mr. Salazar has lied to you today, not because his killing Senator Robson was some kind of criminal act. It wasn't. Mr. Salazar saved my life. It's just that he is now lying to protect a man who is dead, who doesn't need protecting."
There weren't many questions for Jarrod, or for Salazar for that matter. But the decision of the inquest jury was slow to come, and when it did, it was distinctly unsatisfying. Death was caused by a person or persons unknown. Jarrod could only hang his head. The inquest jury did not believe him. Despite the fact that he had known every man there for years, they did not believe him. He had no idea if they believed he was part of a conspiracy to kill Robson – that wasn't part of their job to decide - but that seemed almost secondary anyway. It was the mistrust of men he had known much of this life that stung.
Nick and Heath were worried about something far more dangerous – the mob out in the street. Without a finding that Salazar had killed Robson, the people out there would believe that Jarrod was part of a conspiracy to kill him. Even as they stood up, they could hear the crowd outside getting louder. Someone had told them what the decision was. Nick and Heath could only look at each other and fret. Could they even get their brother out of here alive?
The sheriff was there in the back of the room. "I'll go out with you boys and ride home with you," he said.
The Barkley men gathered themselves together. Jarrod had considered stopping by his office, but he knew now he had to get out of town and stay out for a while. If there was anyone in that street who believed in him, they weren't being vocal about it. But of course they weren't. Jarrod knew anyone who supported him could be in danger, too. A mob whipped up by lies was extremely dangerous.
Jarrod looked at his brothers and half considered suggesting they go home ahead of him. They had a better chance of getting out safely that way, but he knew they'd never go for it. So they went outside together, with only the Sheriff walking with them.
And the mob swore at them and cursed Jarrod. But no fighting broke out, not even any pushing or shoving. The crowd parted and let them through, and in a few minutes they were riding home with the sheriff as escort.
But what about tomorrow, Jarrod wondered, and the days after that? Would he or even his family ever be safe in Stockton again? And what could he do about it? He knew his brothers were wondering the same things, and they were all silent all the way home, wondering.