Chapter Thirty-Three
As Gordon left Mark Lowell laid out the stretcher next to the injured man.
"We're ready when you are, Doc. We even scavenged a blanket to put over him." Mark indicated the warm woolen blanket he held.
Vin Markure approached as they prepared to ease Jess onto the stretcher.
"Hold up a minute, doc," he said. "I need to talk to your visitors before you leave." Holding up a hand to forestall David's protests he promised, "Just a couple of questions.
"Jess, do you feel up to some questions?" McAllister asked.
"Sure doc. I-I can try anyway."
"Can you tell me what started all this? Why did the Rileys single you out?"
"Don't know," Jess whispered weakly. "Just sittin' by the food when this girl came up to me. We talked an' I told her I couldn't dance 'cause of my ankle."
"What girl Jess?" Slim asked.
"Don't remember - remember her name. Pretty blonde. Carrie something."
"Probably Carrie Peterson," Mark said.
"I know this is hard for you, Jess. I know you're hurting, pard, but Carrie wouldn't be the one who started this." Slim laid a gentle hand on Jess' left shoulder. "Was there another girl? After Carrie, I mean?"
"Yeah. Pretty redhead. Think I saw her before - with Cam maybe."
"One of Cam's friends?" That surprised Markure.
"Not Cam's friend. Too old."
"How old Jess?" Slim asked.
"Twenties. Small. Seemed like she knew me."
"Small redhead? Fits a lot of the girls around here," the sheriff said.
"Anything else Jess?"
"No more questions, Vin," David McAllister motioned to the volunteers. "I need to get my patient home, patched up and into bed."
"Ok, Doc. No more questions for your patient." He looked at Gordon and Slim expectantly. "I do, however, plan to ask your son and Mr. Sherman some questions."
"Make it fast, Sheriff, I want to go with Jess."
"Tell me what you know."
"We - Jess, our housekeeper, our ward and myself - came to Evergreen to visit the McAllisters and Cam Ramsay. The thought we'd like to attend the fair - especially since it's raising money for a good cause. "
"We attended the fair yesterday and today. Gordon's folks and Daisy - Mrs. Cooper - went to the reading of Jules Verne's book at the Greenaways. Cam decided to stay home - you know how she is about big parties and such."
"Yes," Markure nodded. "She's been that way as long as I've known her."
Gordon picked up the story here.
"Jess fell out of a tree the other day."
Markure's eyebrows went up.
Quickly Gordon explained about Duncan chasing the cat and Jess climbing up to retrieve it then, because the cat gave him such a hard time, losing his grip and landing too hard the wrong way.
"He sprained his ankle some and it's been bothering him since yesterday morning. He's supposed to be taking it easy but he's so fond of Cam and that pup that he overdid it on their outings and walking around the fair."
"Yeah, but he wasn't going to miss out on the dance," Slim said. "I wish he'd stayed home at the McAllisters'. He wouldn't be in this condition if he had."
"How did the fight start? Do you know?"
"Gordy and I were down at the far end of the dance floor. The Rileys already had Jess out here by the time we realized he wasn't sitting where we'd left him."
Markure looked around. "Does anybody know how this fight got started?"
"Yes." It was Karen Dunnigan who spoke up. "We girls did a little asking around while the fellows were trying to help Jess."
"Well what started this?" Markure was running out of patience at this point.
"The Rileys have been planning this for days," Vicky Compton joined them at this point. "And here is the person who set poor Mr. Harper up by telling them he'd insulted her." She gestured to a couple of young women behind her and they brought Jeannie Riley forward to face the music. A quite subdued and disheveled Jeannie Riley that was.
Her hair was hanging loose and tangled. Her once immaculate cream colored dress had red punch spilled down the front and frosting, from one of the cakes, smeared on it. Her eyes were still defiant though.
"Tell Sheriff Markure how you set Jess up to be beaten by your brothers," Karen said.
"I'll say nothing of the sort," Jeannie answered.
"You'll tell him the truth or we girls will have more to say to you and it won't just be punch and cake on your dress when we're through," Karen informed her.
"Sheriff! Are you going to let her threaten me again?"
"I don't hear any threats," Markure said. "And before you mention your dress I'll add that it could very well have been an accident." He fixed her with a steely gaze. "Now start talking!"
"You heard the man - talk!" Karen was angry. Jeannie had been causing trouble for years but this was the worst incident yet.
"It was all Colin's idea!" Jeannie exclaimed. "He said he wanted to get at Gordon McAllister but he couldn't so he decided to get at him through Slim Sherman. And Sherman and Harper won the contests they were supposed to win at the fair."
"Shut your mouth girl!" her oldest brother snarled.
"Keep talking, Jeannie," Karen said. "Tell Mr. Markure the whole story - like how you set Jess up." She gave the younger woman a none too gentle shake.
Slim, standing next to his friend, felt an urge to throttle the whole bunch. Jeannie's next words almost made him lose control. His eyes were icy as he stared at Colin, Jim, Mart and their sister. Only Gordon's restraining hand on one side, and David's on the other, kept him from acting on his feelings.
"All right! All right! I was mad. Cam Ramsay didn't introduce us and he didn't introduce himself or pay any attention to me," she said. "He's not going to forget me now. The boys saw to that!"
"I've heard enough!" Markure declared. "Mark, you, Tim, Jeff and Pete help Doc McAllister get his patient to the house. "
Mark Russell nodded and, followed by his friends, walked back to where Jess lay on the ground.
Half a dozen other volunteers helped Vin Markure take his prisoners to the jail. Said volunteers included Karen Dunnigan, Vicky Compton and a dozen more young ladies who would gladly take Jeannie Riley apart for what she'd done that night and over the last few years. Each of them had had a brother, cousin or friend assaulted by the Rileys because of her. Miss Jeannie Riley was escorted home by a dozen of them. She'd think twice before she tried that stunt again. Sheriff Markure couldn't arrest her because she'd really done nothing more than lie about Jess. It was her brothers, and their friends, who had actually assaulted him.
Slim watched them go, then limped back to Jess' side.
"On three," David McAllister said to the men who were going to transfer Jess to the stretcher. "One, two, three."
Four men lifted Jess and placed him gently on the stretcher that had been brought to the scene of the fight.
"Slim?" Jess reached out blindly for his friend.
"Right here, Jess." Slim took Jess' reaching hand in his. "We're going back to the house now and get you patched up."
"Does Daisy know what happened?"
"Yes, she knows.," Gordon told him. "She and Mother are at the house waiting to clean you up and put you to bed when Father is through with you."
Pain filled eyes looked at him questioningly.
"I told them myself, Jess. They're okay."
"Enough talk for now," David McAllister cut in. "Let's go."