Lawman
Chapter 5
Matt didn't sleep much that night. The room he had rented at the only hotel in town was quite adequate, the bed clean and reasonably comfortable, but his mind was with Doug Hamilton. He had remained in the jail cell talking with his friend till late into the night. By the time he left he had a fairly clear picture of what had happened, at least as far as Hamilton told it, and he kept turning it over in his mind. As far as he could tell the evidence was all circumstantial and a fair trial should dismiss the charges, or at least find his friend innocent, but Matt knew he needed to prove his friend's innocence for sure or preferably find the person who murdered the bounty hunter to clear his name entirely.
The following morning he was at the jail early, but even so Gina had got there before him and had brought breakfast for her husband. When Matt started talking about going out to where the body was found, Gina declared she was planning to accompany them. He left them alone so they could enjoy their limited time together. There were a couple of telegrams he needed to send and then he would go along to the livery to arrange to rent a horse for himself and a buggy for Hamilton and his wife.
He had just left the jail when he was stopped by Etheridge, the leader of the town council. The little man was again swollen with his own importance and wanted Matt to explain what he planned to do about seeing that Hamilton was hanged for murder.
It had been all Dillon could do to keep his hands from flying out to grasp the little man's non existent neck. But he politely told him that the case against Hamilton had not been proved as of yet, and that under the laws of this country, a man was innocent till proven guilty.
"In that case, Marshal, if tempers start to run high in this town and mob rule takes over I shall hold you responsible."
"You do that," Matt replied. He had other things on his mind and very little patience for men such as this.
Etheridge was still fuming from the encounter when he entered the Aces Wild Saloon. A small wizened man was standing there behind the bar.
"I need to talk to you, Hackett," Etheridge told him in little more than a raspy whisper.
The man known as Hackett led the way to a room behind the bar. It was usually set aside for high stakes poker games that often went on long after legal hours and more often than not were conducted with the odds being in favor of the house more than they should have been. The furniture here was limited strictly to the essentials. A large round table covered with a green baize cloth dominated the centre of the room and was surrounded by eight leather chairs. An enormous chandelier with a dozen oil lamps hung over the table on a heavy chain, and more lamps where fixed on metal brackets around the walls. There was a drinks cabinet in one corner with half full whisky bottles and polished glasses set on top it and at the far end of the room was a floor to ceiling drape covering the only window to the outside. The whole place hung with the smell of old whisky and stale cigar smoke, both probably dating back years.
Etheridge and Hackett had been instrumental in bringing the new lawman to town, but had started to regret their efforts shortly after his arrival. Up until a year ago there had been an elderly Sheriff who maintained the law in Garden City. He managed to keep the worst offenders at bay, but was a little lax in enforcing local ordinances. Saloons would often stay open well past the prescribed hour, and card games were often run on less than honest principles. In return for his casual glances at these businesses he would receive a little bonus every few months. The system worked well as far as Etheridge, Hackett and a few other business owners were concerned until the Sheriff got himself killed and the town began to sink into a lawless state. Too much lawlessness was no good for an 'honest' man trying to run an 'honest' business and people began avoiding the town. That was when they decided they needed a new law man and Hamilton arrived on the scene. The problems began when he explained that he did not take bribes and saloons should be run in accordance with local ordinances. Furthermore "backroom" gambling had to stop, and in the saloons, poker and Faro tables should be run honestly.
During the following year, they began to see that what they thought was going to be a blessing, turned out to be more of a curse. They needed to rid themselves of this too honest lawman before he ruined their business, but sadly could find no excuse to cancel his contract. This murder charge had come as the perfect solution, that is until the interfering Marshal from Dodge City had arrived on the scene. Now they would have to re think the situation.
xxx
Gina left the jail knowing she was going to be busy for the next few hours. Johnny Halstead would be picking up supplies from the mercantile - she had to catch him before he left. There were some things that needed to be done before this Marshal from Dodge City rode out to the place where the bounty hunter was killed. First she needed to go home and fetch a pair of her husbands boots, and then see if she could find a loose button on the old faded shirt that he wore almost every day.
xxx
Matt spent his time making arrangements at the livery and sending his two telegrams. The telegraph operator was a little reluctant at first, but when Dillon looked down on him with clear steely blue eyes and explained that the badge he was wearing had the backing of the federal government, the man seemed to hesitate. Feeling that he now had the man's attention, the Marshal continued the threat, telling the operator he could have him removed from the position and a replacement here within twenty four hours. Matt wash't too sure he could, in fact, accomplish that, but sometimes bluff was all he had to resort to.
After he was as convinced as he could be that the wires got sent, he made his way to the livery. He didn't notice the two men hiding back in the shadows of the alley. Etheridge and Hackett had come to talk with telegraph operator and entered the building as soon as Dillon was a safe distance away. They wanted to know about the wires that the Marshal had sent, who they were addressed to and what they said. The poor little man was all confused by this time. He knew that the telegrams he sent and received were private and he had a duty not to reveal their contents to anyone other than the person they were addressed to. On the other hand he was somewhat scared of Etheridge who was a powerful man in the town.
"I had no choice, Mr. Etheridge." the little man was visibly shaking as he spoke. "He stood right over me and watched me send them, said he knew morse code from when he was in the army and if I didn't do it right he would see I lost my job."
"Well I'll see you lose your job if you don't tell me about them." As a little extra encouragement Etheridge took a $10.00 bill from his pocket and placed it on the counter.
"Now does that help." Indeed it did and the operator decided that the man now standing over him was the more immediate threat.
"The first was to a Doctor Adams in Dodge City and said I need your help, that's all. The second was to a Judge Brooking, it was sent to the telegraph office in Wichita, to be forwarded if necessary."
"Well what did it say?" Etheridge was becoming impatient and the telegraph key had begun to chatter in the background.
"I have to answer that," the operator said looking at the instrument..
"Just tell me what he sent to the Judge."
"It was something about taking Mr. Hamilton to Dodge City so he could get a fair trial."
The key was rattling again, now more insistently.
"Go take care of it," Etheridge waived his hand in the direction of the key, "just be sure and tell me when you get replies." He pushed the money across the counter towards the man now fumbling the telegraph key with a shaking hand.
"Yes Mr. Etheridge I'll be sure to do that."
xxx
Matt found the livery stable, it was one block back off the main road through town. The young man who ran it also owned the blacksmith shop next door. He said he could have a buggy and a saddle horse ready for the Marshal but it would be after lunch as one of the animals had a loose shoe and as yet he had had no time to fix it.
That suited Matt well. He would go get a late breakfast and then talk to Doug. There were two small cafe's in town and he chose the one closest to the jail. He seated himself at a small table back in a corner so he could face the entrance - he never liked sitting with his back to the street. He placed his order with a middle aged woman who was apparently the wife of the owner. She had just set a cup of coffee in front of him when he looked up to see Gina walking through the door and heading straight towards him. He stood up and pulled out a chair, inviting her to join him. She was in somewhat of a hurry but would have coffee, she needed to talk with him.
Matt could not help but notice how pretty the young woman was, she seemed to have a charm that attracted men like a magnet. He could understand Doug's commitment to her.
"I have a confession to make Marshal." She spoke in a quiet but precise way that was almost seductive. She looked directly into his eyes then dropped her head a little. "I fear it is my fault that all this has happened." She took a deep breath and raised her head once more, to make sure she had his attention. Gina could read most men and know when she had them captivated by looking in their eyes. This man was a little different, she was not so sure.
"I had been telling Doug that we needed more money. We had to get a bigger house if we were going to have a family. I think that in some way I drove him to.…well I hate to say it, take the bounty money"
Matt looked at her, wondering why she was telling him this. At first he thought she had no reason other than confessing her guilt, but the more he looked into the innocent brown eyes that stared mournfully back at him, the more he believed she had another motive.
"I would never have said anything if I had known it would lead to this, I know he headed out to meet that bounty hunter, he told me it was to hand over the money, but now I wonder if I pushed him into doing these things they are accusing him of." She dabbed at her eyes with an embroidered lace handkerchief as he watched and felt the beginnings of suspicion form in the back of his mind.
"Do you really think your husband did this, Gina?"
She hesitated somewhat before looking at him again. "I don't know what to think, Marshal," she replied, trying to impress her innocent sincerity on him. Matt took a mouthful of coffee and swallowed, giving himself time to watch her before he replied.
"I have known Doug long time and am going to do everything I can to see he gets a fair trial. I personally don't believe he would murder a man for money but that decision will be left up to a judge and jury. Meantime I am going to do my best to uncover the truth.
She looked at him and a small smile came to her lips as she pushed the embroidered handkerchief back inside her small reticule.
"Thank you Marshal, I have to go now but I'll see you later."
He stood up as she left the table, and watched her walk out through the door. Now he had even more questions in his mind, but as he sat back down his food arrived and pushed the doubts out of the way.