Chapter 4

My friends in Stockton –

You have known me almost all of my life. I have been your counselor, your neighbor, and your friend. Now I find I must tell you a difficult truth that you may not want to hear, but rumors have been circulating that are false. I trust you will hear me out and use your good judgment in evaluating what you hear and read.

Several days ago, Senator Jud Robson was killed in my presence, on land owned by my family. I told the truth to the inquest jury on his killing. Senator Robson was shot to death by his aide, Mr. Salazar. This was not a crime on Mr. Salazar's part. He killed the Senator to prevent him from killing me.

The Senator was a guest of my family. We have been friends for many years and were happy to host him again. This time, however, I saw changes in the Senator's behavior, changes that came to a head when he shot and killed a man he believed was armed and about to kill him. An inquest in that death was pending when the Senator was killed. I was traveling from my home to town to see the district attorney about this inquest. I was not armed. Senator Robson intercepted me and accused me of being a part of a conspiracy to kill him.

There was and is no such conspiracy. The changes I saw in Senator Robson were such that they made him believe that conspiracies against him existed, when none did. After he shot the Senator, Mr. Salazar told me that he had been watching Senator Robson disintegrate mentally for some time, but he wanted to preserve the Senator's reputation and legend, so he intended to tell the public that the Senator had been killed by one of his enemies.

This was false. I believed I had convinced Mr. Salazar to tell the truth about the Senator's death, but he changed his mind when we arrived in Stockton. He has been telling a lie to keep the Senator's legend intact. The truth is the Senator had been failing mentally for some time, and he would have killed me but for Mr. Salazar's intervention. Mr. Salazar saved my life. He bears no fault for having killed Senator Robson.

He does bear the fault of lying to you since then. He lied to the inquest jury and he has been lying all along. No hidden enemy killed Senator Robson. Mr. Salazar killed him.

You have known me as one of you for almost all of my 33 years. Senator Robson had known me as a friend for most of my adult life. I considered him a friend until the moment he died, and I grieve for him. I have not been and am not now a part of any conspiracy against him. There is no such conspiracy.

I have no interest in being considered to complete the Senator's term of office, nor do I have plans to run for that office at any time in the future. I trust you will all take my life as one of you, as well as my words, into consideration when you make up your mind about this entire terrible incident. Remember Senator Robson for the man he was, not the man he became. Remember me for the man you've known me to be.

Your friend, Jarrod Barkley

"Kinda long, isn't it?" Nick asked when he read it.

Jarrod stood by the desk in the library, his arms folded in front of him. "It could have been a lot longer."

"You didn't say anything about Salazar being after the Senator's position," Heath said.

"I didn't think I needed to," Jarrod said. "People already know that. It's more important they remember that I'm not after it."

"Salazar will probably say you gave up on the idea when you got caught lying at the inquest," Nick said.

"Probably," Jarrod said. "I know I'm not going to convince the people who don't want to be convinced. Salazar will just lie to them and they will lie to themselves. But some people will believe me. I hope a lot of them will."

"Have you shown it to Mother and Audra?" Heath asked.

"Not yet," Jarrod said.

Nick and Heath looked at each other, not really sure what to say now. They weren't really sold on this idea of an ad in the paper, but on the other hand neither one of them had a better idea about what to do. They just knew it couldn't go on the way it had been going.

Victoria and Audra felt the same way when they read the letter. "I think it's good, but I don't know if it's going to help," Victoria said, and she looked both sad and disgusted.

Jarrod took the letter from her and handed it off to Heath. "I'm sure we'll have to find other ways to fight Salazar and his lies, but we have to start somewhere," Jarrod said. "Heath, Nick, would you take this to the newspaper office?"

Heath folded it and put it into the inside breast pocket of his jacket. "I hope it helps, Jarrod."

"You two should be very careful in town," Victoria said.

"We will," Nick said, "but I don't think anybody's about to start anything with us."

"Maybe some words," Heath said, "but I'll make sure Nick keeps his temper."

"I'll make sure I keep it," Nick said.

They turned and headed out the front door, Jarrod with them, saying, "If you see Steve, ask him if he has any new read on how the crowd is sizing up. And if you see Salazar, don't even talk to him, all right? Don't let him goad you into anything."

"Don't worry," Nick said. "Salazar won't throw any punches, and I won't start anything."

Jarrod remained on the porch as Nick and Heath stepped down into the yard. "Turn the other cheek this time, Nick," Jarrod said after them.

Nick nodded as he and Heath headed for the stable.

Jarrod sighed, wishing he were tackling this alone. Not that he didn't appreciate the support. He just worried that his family would end up taking a hit he should be defending them from. But he knew things were far too hot in Stockton for him to go there and take it on at all just yet. Going there would just stir Salazar up even more. He was, after all, a politician, and that's what politicians do, inflame the voters because that's how you get them to vote for you.

Jarrod hoped that at some point he might be able to go back into town and fight Salazar with the truth, but there had to be an opening before he could do that. He hoped the letter would give him that opening, even if it were just a small one. But he was also making contingency plans in the back of his mind. He had no doubt that he would fight this thing as long as he had to, but he was a realist. There was a chance this could go against him in the end, in any number of directions, and he couldn't make plans for the ones he hadn't thought of yet.

The best thing he could do was to stay flexible, to get a read on what was happening in town, to take that opening when it appeared no matter how slight it was. And if no opening appeared, he'd have to martial whatever support he could find and use it to the best of his ability.

He stayed to watch Nick and Heath ride out in the buckboard and when they gave him a wave, he waved back. And he hoped their visit to town would not go bad because of him.

XXXXXXX

Nick and Heath immediately began to get looks when they rode into town. There were a lot of people out and about. Practically everyone looked their way. Some looked angry, some gave them a smile, most just looked and then looked away.

As they pulled up in front of the mercantile, Heath, who was driving, said, "Well, we haven't been beaten up yet."

He and Nick climbed down and went into the shop. They were pleased when the owner, Mr. Shipman, gave them a smile. "Morning, boys," he said. "What can I get for you?"

Nick handed him a list. "Got quite a lot for you today, Don. Can you have it loaded up for us out in the wagon?"

Shipman looked at the list. "Sure thing. Have you ready to go in less than half an hour. Are you – uh – gonna be in town long?"

They understood his implication. "No," Nick said. "Got to go to the bank and the newspaper office, maybe see the sheriff too. We'll be right around here."

"All right," Shipman said.

As Nick and Heath walked out, Nick said, "Well, looks like we're still okay at the mercantile. Let's see about the bank."

Their reception at the bank was mixed. The manager, Mr. Baker, was friendly and accommodating, but they got some cold stares from some of the rest of the workers there. They completed their business quickly and headed for the newspaper office.

They noticed they got quite a few stares from the people in the street when they went into the Eagle office. Mr. Tuttle, on the other hand, looked up from his press with a big smile for them. "Hello, gentlemen," he said. "What can I do for the Barkleys today?"

Heath took Jarrod's letter out of his pocket and handed it over. "Print this on the front page of today's edition if you can make it," he said.

Tuttle took the letter and read it over. And smiled. "Well, I was wondering what Jarrod was gonna do about all the hubbub around here. I'll get it in today."

Nick reached into his pocket for money. "How much?"

"Uh, you best not pay me for this," Tuttle said. "I don't want people deciding the Barkleys are trying to buy me off and I'm letting them. Besides, this is news. I'll sell a lot of papers. I'll just treat this like a letter to the editor."

"Just out of curiosity," Heath said, "do you believe what Salazar's saying?"

"Me? I know better than to believe what a politician is selling unless he's really got something to back it up. If Salazar comes up with something, maybe, but so far all he's got is that inquest jury's decision and frankly, there were a few men on that jury who were happy to stick it to the Barkleys for their own reasons. You know how some people like to bring the mighty down. It's not like this hasn't happened to you before."

"Just keep being honest with the news, Mr. Tuttle," Heath said. "That's all we're asking."

Tuttle nodded. "That's what I try to do – keep us all honest."