Lawman

Chapter 12

It was well into night. The town was still going strong with vast amounts of alcohol being consumed and presumably cards being played and fortunes being lost and won. Now that there was no effective law, the saloons had little incentive to close until the last customer had left or passed out on the floor. Someone would have to step in and maintain order here, but Dillon had more pressing things on his mind right now and, if necessary, he could assign someone the task later.

Once again he scoured the saloons for the young ranch hand but everyone he asked had seen no sign of him for several days. That man was the key to solving this murder, he was sure, but it was as if he had vanished from the town. Matt knew he would feel better when he had his friend Hamilton safely settled in Dodge. Safe, that is, until a trial that could come to a bad ending. Maybe if he could delay things a little he could track down this Johnny Halstead and find the truth.

He drove the buggy out to the old Grist Mill. No one followed him. He'd stopped and pulled off the road several times to check. Doug and young Jed Bowman were there and waiting for him as he pulled up in front of the old structure. He planned to get back to town just in time to catch the stage, no sense in either himself or Hamilton waiting around the depot and being targets for longer than necessary. He spoke quietly with young Jed Bowman, asking him to send a telegram to Dodge if Halstead happened to show up in Garden City again, somehow though, he didn't think it was likely.

The whole ordeal was beginning to stress Hamilton. He worried about his wife and his future, if he even had one. It could be many years in jail, or even worse, a noose around his neck, all for something he didn't do.

"Are you going to put me in handcuffs Matt?" Hamilton asked his friend as they headed back towards town. For many years he had worked on the side of the law and now the thought of being in handcuffs for everyone to see was something he couldn't handle.

"No, your word is good enough for me," Dillon had assured his friend. He couldn't help but remember the time when the authorities had sent Bill Hickock to Dodge to arrest him for murder. Even though there was a so-called witness to the killing, Hickock had treated him with trust and respect and that had helped Matt get through those dark days and eventually find the real killer.

There were four passengers in total on the stage that night and Matt carefully studied the other two. They were an elderly man and his wife who had been visiting a daughter in Colorado and were now headed home to St. Louis. Once they got to Dodge they planned to take the train for the remainder of their trip. They certainly did not pose any threat

xxx

Matt was watching through the window of the coach as they pulled out of town. He thought that if a man had murdered one time, he wouldn't hesitate to try something again. Hamilton had reasoned that way too and was busy watching out the window opposite. He had even gone so far as to ask Matt to return his gun, just in case. Matt had declined, knowing what the man's state of mind must be and how easy it would be to fire out of fear and frustration. He would rather accept the responsibility for defending his prisoner himself than risk his friend making a fatal mistake.

Dillon tried to remain alert throughout the trip, but the last few days had allowed very little sleep and he caught himself dozing a time or two. He woke with a start as the stagecoach slowed pace and changed direction. For a moment his hand started towards his gun, but relaxed as he looked and saw they were heading into the first of three relay stations. Quietly he told Hamilton to remain seated till he had had chance to look around. The driver had opened the door and he climbed down first, surveying the landscape for any sign of trouble. All was quiet and he reached up to help the elderly couple down, then signaled to his friend that all was well.

The process was repeated twice more before they pulled into Dodge. Front Street was relatively quiet and Matt decided that both of them could do with some refreshment.

"C'mon Doug, I'll buy you a beer before we go back to...my office." He found he couldn't say 'jail'. He hated the idea of locking his friend in a cell and was putting off the ordeal.

It was past lunchtime and the saloon was almost empty. Clem was busy cleaning the bar and washing glasses. Something made Kitty look up from the table near the rear, where she was talking with Doc, just as the two men appeared at the entrance to the saloon. She studied her cowboy for a moment just to make sure all was well, then beckoned them both to the table where she was sitting. Matt directed Hamilton to the back of the saloon and after introductions took his own familiar seat next to the owner. Kitty signaled to Clem and shortly four cold beers arrived at the table. The conversation was light. Doc explained that Gina had got a room at the Dodge House instead of Ma Smalley's and was probably sleeping after the journey from Garden City.

"I'll go over there later and let her know we are here," Dillon told his prisoner.

Doc had just got up to leave and visit a patient when two cowboys entered. Matt didn't recognize either of them and looked at Kitty. She gently shook her head indicting they were strangers to her as well. They bought a bottle of whisky and sat at the table next to the trio. At first they were quiet, just consuming their whisky and talking in low voices. Matt turned his attention back to his own table and conversation, then suddenly became aware of a raised voice behind him.

"Well I'd say if that was any other murderer he'd be locked in the jail by now, not sitting here drinking beer with a US Marshal."

The words were hardly spoken before Matt had pushed his chair back and turned to face the cowboy who'd been speaking.

"If you've got anything to say Mister, I'd suggest you say it to my face." The cowboy stood up from the table, knocking over the whisky bottle in the process. He pulled himself up to his full height, still several inches shorter than Dillon.

"I was just remarking that I'm not too sure about a Marshal who'd sit drinking with a murderer, just because he's a fellow lawman."

"I think you should mind your own business and go do your drinking somewhere else." Dillon stood his ground, he didn't want to start a fight here and now, but if pushed he was ready.

It looked for a minute like the cowboy was going for his gun, but the other man at his table spoke up. "C'mon Slim, we'll take our business elsewhere."

The tension subsided as both men picked up their hats and headed for the door.

Matt sat back down thoughtfully.

"I wonder who told them?" he questioned, as much to himself as to the others.

A short while later he took Hamilton along the boardwalk to the jail.

"I don't like doing this, but I think it will be safer for everyone for now." He had hated seeing his friend in the jail in Garden City, but this was worse, this was his jail.

"I'm sorry Doug, I need to check that you don't have any weapons before I lock you up." It was one of his own rules, something that had saved his life several times, and there could be no exception. Exceptions always led to trouble but right now it felt all wrong, even so it had to be done. Hamilton cooperated while Matt searched his coat and made him empty his pockets. As expected he found nothing and that only left the difficult process of locking him in a cell.

"I'm going to prove this is all wrong Doug. Someone is pushing me too hard to find you guilty and I mean to find out who it is."

"Thanks Matt." Hamilton sat dejectedly on the cot as if trying it out for comfort. "You'll tell Gina I'm here?"

"Yes, just as soon as Chester gets back." Then he thought of something. "Did you recognize either of those men in the Long Branch just now?"

"I'm not sure Matt, I was wondering the same thing. Maybe I had seen them around town in Garden City - but certainly not recently. I really can't be sure."

"I'll check it out, you just get yourself some rest, and when Chester gets back I'll have him bring you some coffee." Matt closed the door leading back to the cells and went to sit at his desk. Briefly he ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the beginnings of a headache. After a minute or two he settled down to checking the mail that had accumulated in a large but neat pile while he'd been away. A new set of wanted posters could wait a while. There was a note form Judge Brooking. He would be coming to Dodge next week. Another envelope contained an official notification that an attorney had been appointed to present the case against City Marshal Hamilton. His name was Josiah Benton and he would be arriving any day on the Santa Fe.

Things seemed be moving too fast. All the evidence he had was wrong, the only thing on his side were Doc's findings that suggested that the bounty hunter had not been left lying on the prairie for two days before being brought to town as had been claimed. Unfortunately Doc had said there was no way he could swear to that.

Right now there were at least two men in town who were aware of the case, how they came upon that information was a mystery, but the only people who knew about all this were in Garden City, except for Gina and of course Johnny Halstead who hadn't been seen for days. He knew that Doc would not have said anything about it.

Dillon sat thinking for several minutes before Chester returned. He took him back to the cells and introduced him to Hamilton, then leaving them to talk for a while, he went back along Front Street to the Long Branch. He wanted Kitty to go with him to see Gina. He just couldn't make up his mind about that young lady, but he knew that Kitty Russell was an expert when it came to understanding women and he wanted her opinion.

TBC