Chapter 4 – The Will
After Bess Dupree left he did some thinking, mulling over the facts he'd learned from the girl. Finally satisfied that he'd gotten all the information he could from her, at least for now, he decided to visit Pete Trainer and see what the sheriff could tell him that Bess couldn't or wouldn't. He found the lawman perusing the latest 'Wanted' posters and waited until Trainer looked up before saying anything.
"Well, Mr. Maverick, I didn't expect to see you down here so soon. Somethin' I can help you with?"
"That depends, sheriff. What can you tell me about Dalton Dupree? Or his persona, George Henry?"
Trainer sat back in his chair and took a long look at the man in front of him. "Not satisfied with what you heard from Bess?"
"I got the feelin' she's leavin' somethin' out."
"And you think I can fill you in?"
"I do," Bart nodded. He sat down in the chair next to the sheriff's desk. "Can you?"
The sheriff hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Probably. What did she tell you?"
"Oh, just the basics. Bastard son turns up out of nowhere, works for a while, goes bad, sponges off the family, gets thrown out, comes back an kills Pa. You know, your average story. What am I missin'?"
"Did she tell you about the beatings, or the shouting matches, or the abuse?"
"No, those parts got left out. Who was doin' what?"
"You gotta understand this. Hanford Dupree was like two different people. The way he treated his daughter was different than the way he treated his son. Bess never saw the side of him he showed to Dalton."
"And you did?"
"Hanford was a friend a mine. That don't mean I approved of the way he treated the boy. Wasn't right, that's just the way it was. Dalton didn't help himself none, the way he started with the drinkin' an hangin' out with the Lester gang. When Hanford had an excuse, he finally threw the kid out. Dalton moved in with the Lester's, got real good with his guns. Started disappearin' for longer an longer at a time. Heard rumors about him gettin' into one thing or another – one day the whole bunch of 'em left Delmont an nobody heard about 'em for years."
"Did Dalton keep in touch with Hanford or Bess?"
"Don't know. If he did Hanford never said anything. When I got the first 'Wanted' poster of Dalton, with the alias 'George Henry,' I rode out to the ranch. Hanford didn't seem surprised, more disappointed than anything. We got into it somethin' fierce – he didn't like what I had to say about the way he'd treated that boy. Told him what could he expect – he never gave Dalton a fair chance."
The sheriff stopped talking and Bart sat there waiting for more. When there was no more forthcoming, the gambler asked his next question.
"What happened when Hanford was killed?"
"I was out at the Ferris house. Remy Ferris tried to steal a derringer from Horace's store, an I grabbed him an marched his little butt out to his old man. Dang kid thinks he can just take what he wants. Anyway, I was out there tellin' his pa that if I caught him again he was goin' to jail when Bess came tearin' up in the wagon. Damn near hysterical, said Dalton just shot and killed her pa. She was in town when it happened but she saw Dalton ridin' away as she came home an found Hanford dead."
"Anybody else see Dalton Dupree that day?"
"Nope. But we'd had word he was in Jonesville the day before. That's the next town over."
Bart rubbed his chin. Something was still bothering him. "Anything missin' from the house?"
"You mean like a robbery or somethin'?" Trainer asked. "Nothin' ever reported. Didn't see no strangers around town or nothin' like that."
The gambler sat there for a minute before getting to his feet. "Thanks for the information, Sheriff. I'll let ya know if I think of anything else."
"Whatever you're thinkin', Maverick, Bess ain't had no easy life. Lived out at that ranch by herself for the last few years, with nobody to depend on. Probably waitin' to see if her brother was comin' back to kill her, too."
He left the sheriff's office and walked down the sidewalk, stopping when he saw a lawyer's storefront across the street. He crossed over and walked into the offices of J.M. Barry, Attorney at Law, and found a handsome lad of eighteen or nineteen sitting out front. "Bart Maverick to see Mr. Barry, please."
"Miss Barry," the lad corrected. "May I tell her what it's regarding, Mr. Maverick?"
Bart was still trying to get over a lady lawyer and stumbled for just a moment. "Uh, tell her it's . . . it's about Bess and Hanford Dupree."
"Yes, sir," and the lad scurried down the short hallway and went behind a closed door. In a minute he was back out. "Miss Barry can see you now, Mr. Maverick. Follow me," and the lad headed down the hallway again. Bart followed. Behind the desk sat a very attractive woman in her late twenties, brunette hair piled up on top of her head, reading what appeared to be a document of some kind.
"Come in, Mr. Maverick, and have a seat. I heard that Bess Dupree convinced you to take the job she was offering. What changed your mind about accepting it, if I may ask?"
"Circumstances, Miss Barry. Circumstances. Does everyone in this town know I turned Bess down the first time the job was offered?"
"I am her lawyer, Mr. Maverick. One could expect a person's attorney to be aware of certain things. But the answer to your question is yes, practically everyone knows. And I'm sure that everyone now knows that you came back and accepted the job, too."
Bart nodded, not surprised to hear either answer. He got the same feeling from Attorney Barry that he got from Bess Dupree – there was something about the women that put him slightly off kilter. "Can I ask you some questions about Hanford Dupree and his will?"
"Certainly, Mr. Maverick. Miss Dupree has already given her permission for me to answer any questions you have."
One step ahead of him, the way she always seemed to be. Did she really need him to find Dalton? Or was he just a device to physically go where she couldn't or wouldn't go? He sighed audibly, and he could see the attorney watching him carefully. "Mr. Dupree's will – did you have the amended copy?"
"Amended copy? You mean the one where he failed to provide an inheritance for Dalton Dupree?"
"Yes, that copy."
Attorney Barry shook her head. "No, I did not. My predecessor here, who was my father, drafted that will and retained an unsigned copy. The signed copy was stored in a safe at the ranch by Mr. Dupree himself."
"And did Miss Dupree know that her brother – excuse me, her half-brother – had been omitted?"
"According to my father, Miss Dupree was not aware of that fact."
Bart looked unsure of his next question. "You know that for certain?"
"I do, Mr. Maverick. I had just graduated from law school, and my father informed me of that when Mr. Dupree was killed."
"Do you still have either the original will or the amended copy?"
"I do not have the original; that one was destroyed on Mr. Dupree's orders, upon his death. I do, however, retain the amended will. Would you care to see it?"
"Yes, please." Why he wanted to see it he wasn't sure, but he thought he should.
Miss Barry rang a small silver bell, and the lad from out front came in. "Jeremy, look in the Dupree file and find me the folder that says 'Dupree Will' on it."
The young man nodded and was gone for five or six minutes. Bart looked around the office – it was very businesslike. One would never guess from the contents of the room that it belonged to a woman. "Do you mind if I ask – what does the J.M. stand for?"
"Not at all. Josephine Martine. I was named for my father, who was Joseph Martin." Jeremy returned, folder in hand, and gave it to the attorney. "Thank you, Jeremy." She opened the folder and looked it over before handing it to Bart. "I think you'll find it all in order."
He read the writing on the paper and saw nothing particularly odd about it. It wasn't a long last will and testament; it was very simple and straightforward. It left all money and property to Hanford Dupree's daughter, Elizabeth Dupree. There was no mention of any kind of the deceased's son, Dalton Dupree, a.k.a. George Henry. It was signed 'Hanford Dupree' and witnessed by 'Joseph Martin Barry, Attorney-at-Law.' Bart was about to hand it back to Miss Barry when he noticed something unusual. The will was not dated.
"Something wrong, Mr. Maverick?"
"There's no date on this will, Miss Barry. Isn't that unusual?"
"Unusual, perhaps, but not unheard of."
If this one was undated, who was to say this was indeed the amended will, and not the original document that existed before Dalton Dupree had entered his father's life? Bart began to say something and then stopped himself. He held back, unwilling to show his cards at this point. He nodded, as if satisfied with her answer, and returned the folder. "That's all the questions I have for now, Miss Barry. I assume I can come visit if there's anything else I need to know?"
"Certainly, Mr. Maverick. You're welcome anytime. It was a pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand to shake, and he took it, then tipped his hat anyway.
"Ma'am." Bart walked down the hall and nodded to Jeremy before he left. The young man got up from his desk and went back to Josephine's office, and she handed him a note she'd just finished writing. "Take this to Miss Dupree at her ranch. And then take the rest of the afternoon off."
"Yes, ma'am," the clerk answered, and left immediately.
"Just like you said he would," the attorney murmured out loud, talking to the walls. "Just like you said."