Chapter 5

Nick and Heath discovered that finding people to talk to around town wasn't very hard. Word of Jarrod's attack was getting around fast, and everyone from clerks of the court to the ministers of two churches and Mr. Beckett from the funeral parlor began to stop the Barkley brothers to ask how the oldest one was doing.

"Okay, but he's got some problems," Nick or Heath would respond and then set forth the story Jarrod wanted told. The discussions always ended up with, "Nobody knows who did it and the sheriff is still looking," and "Well, give Jarrod my best."

At about noon, Nick and Heath went back to the doctor's office and found Jarrod already up in the sick room, dressed and ready to go. His suit was a bit dirty and crumpled and he hadn't shaved, so the beginnings of his beard were showing. "I'll look the part," he said.

He was sliding his small writing pad and pencil into the handkerchief pocket of his suit coat. As soon as he saw Nick and Heath come in, he handed Nick his gunbelt.

"I can't be wearing this," Jarrod said.

"What should I do with it?" Nick asked.

"We'll go to my office first and lock it in my desk drawer. I want Esther to see I'm alive, but she should think I can't hear or think well. If we can convince her, we should be able to convince anybody I'm not altogether."

"She's gonna be awful mad when she finds out the truth," Heath said.

Jarrod paused and thought about that. "Maybe. But I'll explain to her how important it all was when it's over, and how important it was I had to convince her if things were going to work."

"I still think you're crazy," Nick said.

Jarrod brightened up. "Good! You're supposed to."

Dr. Merar came into the room then, took a quick look at Jarrod, and said, "You should slump more."

Jarrod obliged.

"Move like it's taking effort," Dr. Merar said, "which it probably really will after you've been out for an hour or so. Don't overplay this, or you really will be in difficult straights. You've had a bad head injury. That part's not an act."

"I know," Jarrod said.

"And don't drink any liquor today."

"Is coffee all right?" Jarrod asked. He hadn't had any yet and was dying for a cup.

"Some," Dr. Merar said. "Not your usual fifteen cups a day."

"I don't drink that much."

"That's not what I've heard, but keep it down to three, maybe four. I don't want you back in here an hour from now."

Jarrod nodded and looked at his brothers. "Remember, if you speak in a regular voice, I'm going to pretend not to hear you. Yell at me if you want me to hear you. And if I write in my little book here, act like it doesn't make any sense, because it won't."

"What do you mean?" Heath asked.

"I mean my notes won't mean anything to anyone but me," Jarrod said. "It'll add to my persona while I really am keeping notes I want to keep. When we're someplace private, I'll explain if I learn anything important."

"Is this the sort of thing you did in the army?" Heath asked.

Jarrod smiled an awkward smile and said, "Let's leave the army back in the army."

"My brother the spy," Nick said anyway.

"Sort of," was all Jarrod was willing to say.

He was ready, and they left with him feeling the most secure and his brothers the most wary about how this was going to work. They were scarcely out on the street before people started looking. Jarrod wavered a little after a few steps, leaning in toward Heath who didn't know if this was part of the act or he really was having trouble.

"You all right?" Heath asked in a normal voice.

Jarrod pretended not to hear.

People were looking. Heath said more loudly, right into Jarrod's ear, "Are you all right?"

Jarrod jumped a little, looked at him as if surprised to hear him, and said quietly, "Yeah."

They walked on toward Jarrod's office, Heath at Jarrod's side and Nick bringing up the rear and carrying Jarrod's gunbelt. Jarrod kept up the slump, and people kept watching but no one approached. When they got to the stairs that went into Jarrod's building, Jarrod wavered again. Heath caught him and helped him inside. As soon as Nick closed the main door behind them, Jarrod straightened, but climbing the stairs was a bit difficult.

"I'm weaker than I thought," he said.

"I've got you," Heath said.

Esther was at her desk when they went into his office. Since she wasn't expecting him, she jumped up, eyes wide. "Oh, Mr. Barkley!"

She wasn't loud enough. Jarrod looked confused and pretended not to hear.

"You're gonna have to yell," Nick said very loudly. "He can't hear too good."

"Oh," Esther said, but not loudly, and then she didn't know what to say.

Nick carried Jarrod's gunbelt into his inner office. Sitting down in a chair, feigning weakness but not entirely feigning, Jarrod said, loudly but not shouting, "Coffee!"

"I haven't made any," Esther said to Heath. Then, catching herself, she said very loudly to Jarrod, "I haven't made any!"

Jarrod shook his head, acting confused, and said more quietly, "Empire."

"We'll go over to the saloon," Heath said in a normal voice to Esther. "We just came by to lock his gun up."

Nick came back out from the inner office. "Do you want to rest a minute?" he asked Jarrod but he forgot to yell.

Jarrod pretended not to hear him.

Nick leaned closer and yelled, "Do you want to rest a minute?"

Jarrod looked up Nick, said, "Empire," and then he looked at Esther. His eyes looked weary and confused but he said to her, somewhat loudly, "Can't hear anything. I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Mr. Barkley," Esther said loudly. "I'll take care of everything here. You let me know what you need from me."

"The brief!" Jarrod said.

"It went to Sacramento yesterday," Esther said.

"Oh," Jarrod said, quieting down. "Yesterday."

"He's still a little confused too, Esther," Nick said in a normal voice. "We're gonna get him some coffee and some food, and then see if we can find out anything to help the sheriff figure out who did this to him, and then we'll take him home."

Jarrod slowly stood up, said to Esther again, "I'm sorry."

Esther almost cried. "I'll take care of everything," she repeated in a normal voice.

Jarrod gave a quizzical look to her, as if he didn't hear or understand.

"I'll look after the office!" Esther yelled.

Jarrod smiled. "Thank you," he said and started to leave.

Heath kept close to him, and Nick followed along behind again, giving Esther a reassuring smile. After he closed the door behind them and they started down the stairs, Nick said quietly, "This is gonna get really weird."

"But she believed us," Jarrod said. "And I really do want coffee so let's get over to the Empire. Put me at a table and give me some coffee, then go to the bar and ask some questions. In the meantime, I'll listen to whoever is there and talking, but I'll act like I don't hear."

"Are you gonna take notes?" Heath asked.

"Not right away," Jarrod said. "Just follow my lead on that."

"This has already gotten weird," Nick said.

"If you had been a spy, we'd have lost the war," Jarrod said.

Nick grumbled as they got to the front door and went outside. Jarrod immediately slumped a little again. Heath steadied him as they went down the stairs to the street, and people everywhere started watching them.

Jarrod smiled an awkward smile but inwardly felt great. This charade was going to work.