Chapter 6
The Eagle's latest edition came out late in the day, and once it started circulating it didn't take long for people to begin to congregate. In small groups at first, then the groups began to congregate in bigger groups. The sheriff watched it all happen and immediately signed on two deputies in addition to his regular man. When a group started to look too big, he had a deputy break it up, and as darkness settled in, the strategy was working. Nothing was getting out of hand.
But Salazar was nowhere to be seen. That surprised the sheriff a lot. He at least thought the man would be in the street, eavesdropping and putting his two cents worth in wherever he could, but the sheriff never did spot him, until night had fallen and he checked in at Harry's saloon. His deputies were checking in at the others in town, just to make sure things were quiet. The sheriff himself had the luck of finding Salazar in Harry's bar, two steps up on the stairway, making a speech.
"I have told you over and over that I did not shoot Senator Robson!" Salazar was saying. "Why would I? I worked for the man! I loved the man as much as you did!"
"Jarrod Barkley says you did shoot him, to save his life," someone said.
Grumbling went around.
"Barkley is lying!" Salazar said.
"Why would he?" someone else asked.
"Because he was part of the Senator's murder!"
More grumbling.
"There was and is a conspiracy to kill Senator Robson, and the Senator found out Barkley was part of it, for his own political gains!" Salazar said.
The grumbling got louder. Someone said, "You got no proof of that!"
"Of course not!" Salazar said. "These men are good at what they do, and what they do is conspire to make the powerful even more powerful! Are you gonna tell me you want the Barkleys to have even more power in Stockton?!"
The sheriff dove in as the grumbling got louder. "All right, all right, break this up right now! I want this room cleared! Everybody out of here, now!"
Men stumbled out the door, and Harry looked a lot more relaxed. His girls came out from the back room where they had gone into hiding. As Salazar started to move toward the door, the sheriff grabbed his arm.
"If you go out there and start with any more rebel-rousing, I'm putting you in jail for incitement," the sheriff said.
Salazar smiled a little. "Do that, and you really will have a riot on your hands."
"But the blood will be on your hands, Salazar. I know you're having a good time being the center of attention after walking around in Robson's shadow all these years, but if anything breaks out, if anybody is hurt, you're the one I'll be prosecuting. If anybody dies, you're the one I'll have for murder. Now you be smart and go back to your hotel, unless you want to spend the night in mine."
"I'm not the one riling these people up," Salazar said. "Barkley's letter in the paper started all this tonight. Isn't he the one you ought to be locking up?"
"I'll arrest whoever is inciting these men who have had too much liquor, and right now that's you. Get back to your hotel and stay there, because if I see your face in the street again tonight, I'll take you in."
The sheriff followed Salazar out the door and practically herded him back to the hotel. Men in the street accused him of taking Salazar to jail. The sheriff kept telling people he wasn't locking anybody up but was just making sure Salazar made it to his hotel safely. Salazar kept his mouth shut, but he wore a smile all the way to the hotel.
In a few moments, he was alone in his room, looking down in the street at men still milling around and the sheriff and his deputies trying to break them up. Pushing started, and then fists flew. The sheriff and his men were grabbing people right and left and pulling them out of the fray. Several men were so drunk they did not get up once they were pulled aside. Yelling and shoving finally died down for lack of participants, and the sheriff and his deputies began dragging the men passed out off to the jail.
Salazar was already planning his "calm down" speech for the next day. He'd seen enough political speeches to know you could keep a crowd calm and then work them up, and then calm them down again and then work them up again, over and over so much they would swear they were being calm even as they beat people up. Not that Salazar wanted these people killing each other. He just wanted to keep them mad at each other, afraid of each other, so that he could milk the sentiment for the support he needed. But he would have to be careful about it. One step too far and the sheriff might lock him up, but then again, was that so bad? He could get the people here good and mad through the cell window if he were locked up, couldn't he?
The crowd outside was hardly a crowd anymore. It was getting late, men were getting too inebriated to talk and the ones not arrested were beginning to stumble home. Salazar was satisfied. He could get a good night's sleep and be ready for tomorrow.
XXXXXXXXX
When Silas answered the front door the next morning, he was surprised to see the mayor of Stockton standing there, along with a young man who was his secretary. "We'd like to see Mr. Jarrod Barkley," the secretary said.
"Please come in," Silas said and opened the door wide for them.
Jarrod had been working at the desk in the parlor and heard them arrive. He met them in the foyer and offered his hand to the mayor. "Mr. Mayor," Jarrod said. "I'm rather surprised to see you here so early in the morning. Hello, Mr. Simms," he said and shook the secretary's hand.
"Jarrod," the mayor said, "I'd like to have a word with you."
"Of course, let's go into the library," Jarrod said. "May I offer you some coffee?"
"No, thank you," the mayor said.
Jarrod thanked Silas and led the two visitors off to the library. Silas immediately went to the kitchen, where Victoria and Audra were preparing to spend the morning making pies. "Mrs. Barkley, the mayor is here," Silas said, half excited and half worried.
"The mayor?" Audra said.
"Mr. Jarrod took him into the library," Silas said.
Victoria thought about it for a moment. "Do they want coffee?"
"No, ma'am," Silas said.
"Then I think we best leave them alone for a few minutes," Victoria said. "Silas, go back into the living room and listen for them to come out of the library. I don't want them to leave without saying hello to them."
"Yes, ma'am," Silas said and hurried back out to the living room.
"What do you think the mayor wants?" Audra asked, apprehensive.
"I don't know," Victoria said, "except that I'm sure it has to do with Mr. Salazar."
"Oh, Mother, this just seems to be getting more and more out of hand."
Victoria sighed. "Maybe that's what our friend the mayor is here to work on – getting things back under control. At least, I hope that's why he's here."
In the library, Jarrod offered his visitors the sofa and sat down in one of the armchairs, asking, "What can I do for you gentlemen today?"
"I'm here about the letter you put in the newspaper, Jarrod," the mayor said. "There was a near riot in town last night. People are getting angrier and angrier over the murder of Senator Robson."
"It wasn't murder," Jarrod said. "As I've told everyone over and over again, Mr. Salazar killed Senator Robson because the Senator was about to kill me."
"That's not the way Salazar is telling it."
"And he's lying, to preserve the Senator's legend and to forward his own political career."
"Jarrod, Salazar continues to insist that an unknown assassin killed the Senator and while he hasn't out and out accused you of hiring that assassin, he's saying you were involved."
Jarrod had to fight to keep his temper. "And that would be yet another lie. He has no evidence of me being involved in such a conspiracy to kill the Senator, because there is none."
"You and I both know he doesn't need any evidence to stir up a crowd."
"Well, Mr. Mayor, what do you propose I do? Slug it out with Salazar in the street myself? Or perhaps I should go along with his lie? Shall I have myself arrested and hanged for a murder that never happened, just to keep Mr. Salazar under control?"
"No, of course not," the mayor said.
"Then what?"
The mayor sighed. "Until last night, I was thinking a town meeting might be in order with both you and Mr. Salazar present, but now I'm not so sure. It could become violent and someone might get seriously hurt."
"Then what do you suggest? I and my family stay prisoners out here until Mr. Salazar gets his appointment to the Senator's unfilled term and goes back to Washington? Then of course, we'd be pariahs in Stockton for a good long time. Is that what you want from the Barkleys?"
The mayor sighed again. "You've been good friends to me for a very long time, and you've been valuable friends to Stockton, both economically and personally."
"Our friendship with Stockton seems to be running one way," Jarrod said. He was getting angrier and angrier.
The mayor look flummoxed, so his secretary said, "We suggest you recommend publicly that Mr. Salazar be appointed to the Senator's unfilled term."