Doc and Quint and Sam were gone by the time Matt returned to the jail and Chester was sitting at the small square table with a cup of coffee. "You find nothing, Mr. Dillon?" He asked when Matt entered the jail.

"Yes." Matt answered as he took off his hat and placed it on the peg by the door. "That's exactly what I found, nothing." Stomping over to the stove, he picked up the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of the black acrid brew inside. Chester's coffee wasn't the best, but he was used to it.

Sitting down at his desk, he dropped his head into his hands. He wasn't sure what to do. He highly suspected 'Ed' and 'Matilda' to be involved with Kitty's kidnapping but he had nothing but his gut to base that on. He certainly had no proof and he was pretty sure that by now, he didn't have them either. But what were they doing there? Before he could even begin to figure that out, the door to the jail opened and Judge Brooker stepped in.

"Judge?" Matt got up and shook the man's hand. "I didn't expect you in until Friday."

"I didn't either." Brooker smiled. "But I finished up early in Topeka and was able to catch the next train out so, here I am. I didn't think you'd mind getting this trial over with."

"Well, normally no, Judge." Matt shook his head.

"Uh, Judge, would you like a cup of coffee?" Chester interrupted. He always happy to share his coffee.

"Uh, no, thank you, Chester." Brooker shook his head. He'd had Chester's coffee before and didn't want to experience that again. "I just thought I'd stop in and find out the facts of this case and then see how quickly we can arrange the trial."

"Uh, well…" Matt wasn't sure what to do. On one hand, he wanted this mess to be over, but on the other hand, he knew, Kitty's life was in danger if the boy wasn't released.

"What's wrong?" Brooker was an astute man and he could tell something was going on.

"Have a seat, Judge." Matt pulled his desk chair for the judge. "I'll tell what's happened."

While Matt explained things to Brooker, Kitty sat wearily back against the cold stone wall of the cellar she was in. She'd rubbed her wrists back and forth against one of the rougher rocks in the wall and had finally managed to free her hands. But she'd also managed to chew up her wrists in several spots and exhausted herself in the process.

Giving herself a few minutes, Kitty took a breath and bent down, removing the ropes from her feet then tore a piece of her petticoat and tied it around her right wrist which was bleeding fairly freely. Having done that, Kitty pushed herself to her feet and stood still for a moment, listening. Hearing nothing, she moved in the direction of the stairs leading up and out. If she could make it out unseen…

"I told you she's here. You ain't got to worry."

Kitty heard the woman's voice and it was coming closer. Quickly, she moved back to the wall, quickly retied her feet and put her hands behind her back just as the door was pulled open above her. "Who are you?" Kitty demanded. "What do you want with me?" She could see two people backlit by the sun standing up top and staring down at her, but she couldn't make out their faces.

The two stood there at the top for only a moment before dropping the door closed again and moving away. But Kitty could still hear their voices.

"I told you she was here." Kitty heard the woman plainly. Quickly removing the rope from her legs, she got back up and moved closer to the door.

"What are you worried about? She's here and she's gonna stay here til we're told otherwise." The woman said.

"Otherwise is what the boss has in mind, I'm afraid." This was a man's voice, low and gruff sounding. "I heard the Judge just got into town today and I can bet you he'll want to get this trial over with soon. Dillon cares more for his job than that woman down there so he's gonna do what the judge tells him to do. And there's a good chance the judge will order that boy hung."

"So why'd we take her then?" The woman questioned. "I mean if we know Dillon ain't gonna take the bait, why we'd go to the trouble?"

"Cause the boss told us to." The man answered. "He thinks in the end, that Dillon will choose the woman over the law. I don't agree, but I don't run things. I do what he tells me and so do you."

"What if you're right?" The woman's voice took a note of concern. "I mean if that boy hangs…"

"That'll be up to the boss." The man replied. "She ain't seen our faces and won't so maybe he'll let her go. You know drug her again and take her out to the woods and let her go or something."

"And if he won't let her go?" The woman's voice carried more than just concern now.

"We'll do what we have to do." The man answered. "And hope it doensn't come to that."

Kitty swallowed hard but stayed where she was listening intently for anything else they might say, but it was clear the conversation was over and she was positive she heard footsteps going away from her. Kitty leaned back against the wall at the base of the steps. She knew Matt cared about her but she also knew his strong sense of duty would prevent him from turning that boy over to anyone save the judge just to save her. And she would never ask him to. That meant she needed to save herself if she could.

Taking a deep breath, Kitty carefully climbed the steps leading up to the doors, pausing at each step to listen. When she reached the top she did more than pause. She wanted out of there but she didn't want to walk out into an ambush.

Finally, after several moments of hearing nothing, she took a deep breath and reached up, pushing against the doors. They didn't budge. Apparently they'd been locked. Taking another deep breath, Kitty walked back down the stairs. It was obvious she wasn't going to get out of that hole unless someone opened them from outside. And so far, even when they did open it, they didn't step in.

Though it was desperately dark where she was, Kitty's eyes had adjusted enough that could pick out several shapes around her. One of them was a round object that had some weight to it when she picked it up. Tapping it against her hand, she decided that would be perfect for what she needed. Two plans came to her mind then and for several moments; Kitty weighed them in her mind trying to decide which would be best. When she settled her mind on it, Kitty's mouth curled into a grim smile.

TBC